RE: Start
by Molinebar2
Summary: After Team RWBY's mission goes horribly wrong, Yang is left with amnesia. Having forgotten everything about herself, her friends, and everything that's happened in her past year at Beacon, the rest of her team are left to restart their lives, fighting to retrieve Yang's lost memories. (Mild violence, Blake x Yang Bumblebee)
1. Chapter 1: July 27th

**Chapter 1: That Fateful Day**

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**A/N: Welcome all to my new fanfic~**

**I'm trying to keep these notes to a minimum for your reading pleasure, but this is important. **

**Just so you know, every chapter will contain one diary entry from Yang's POV, marked by a dividing line. The rest is the actual story.**

**Now, I hope you all enjoy! Onto the first chapter. **

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**Day 1: 27th of July**

I woke up in hospital today.

My name is Yang Xiao Long. I'm now 18 years old and I am apparently a Huntress in training at the prestigious Beacon Academy. I have three other teammates- Ruby Rose, my little sister, Weiss Schnee, and Blake Belladonna. Alongside all the doctors here, they told me I have a case of amnesia.

I'm not going to doubt them, since I don't remember a thing. My mind's like a clean slate, completely void of any memory, or even emotion at this very time. I don't recognise anybody around me, though they seem to know me so well. Seeing me at such a loss makes them look so disappointed.

I have no idea what kind of person I was before getting this condition, so I don't know where to start. Putting that aside though, seeing everyone so down really is hard to take. I want to change it as soon as I possibly can, since I know their sadness is all my fault.

That's why I have this diary. This is where I'll be keeping all my thoughts, and this is what I can turn to if I can't speak to anybody else. If I remember anything important, I can also write it all down here. Surely, I can reclaim my old life soon through these means. For now though, I'll have to reset everything, and restart to a new life.

Today marks the start of my journey.

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_Earlier that day.._

"Yang...!" Ruby Rose, the younger sister of the female sitting in the hospital bed rushed into the room without a second thought. She didn't care for the doctors eyeing her from the corridors she had dashed through, or the hushed protests of her teammates following behind her. Her eyes were focused on Yang- her role model, her family, her precious teammate, who was blankly gazing out of the window.

"Yang, Yang.." she continued through shallow breaths of air, catching her breath as she slowed her pace and approached by the blonde's bedside. As the red head approached closer, the other's attention was caught and her curiosity rose.

_'Who.. on earth could be so loud and disruptive..?' _She wondered as she met the worried gaze of the other girl. Her questioning eyes were nothing compared to the shining, panicking ones of the younger girl, who still held a smile on her face- a single smile that held all of her hope together. However, as soon as their eyes connected, that smile wavered for a split moment as she swallowed.

"How.. are you actually feeling, though?" she questioned, cutting the thick atmosphere once more. Her legs were beginning to quiver from underneath her, and although she didn't want to admit it herself, she was scared. She was scared of how her sister would react, what she would say. Ruby knew that she had to stay strong though, for the sake of both of them. After all, if the doctors were lying about the report they had given, there was nothing to worry about anyway.

"..okay." was Yang's breathy, blank response. She didn't know what else to say to this stranger, who seemed like she already knew her. The situation was awfully awkward for the blonde girl, but she decided not to question it for the other's sake.

"That's good to hear, Yang.." the other responded with a small nod of her head. Already directing her full attention on her sister, the red head didn't notice her other two teammates standing by the entrance of the hospital room.

And at that comment, the blonde finally found her curiosity taking over. She didn't want to hurt the other in the room, but she couldn't pretend any longer. Eyes dulling and losing their usual bright shine, the girl gave tilt of her head, giving the other an almost sympathetic look. "..who's... Yang..?"

"What is it, Blake?" Weiss spat in a whisper, trying to yank her sleeve out of the other's tight grasp- but to no avail.

"Weiss, you know this is a fragile situation. Just let Ruby deal with and confirm it on her own for now, okay..?" The dark haired other tried to reason with her teammate, but that didn't seem to be working either. Finally letting go of the other's arm, Blake let her eyes trail to the floor.

"What if she doesn't take it well, huh? What if it's true? She's the least likely of all of us to accept it this early. We need to be there to step in." she retorted fiercely, giving a captivating glare before turning around. Knowing she was defeated, the faunas girl let it slide, following behind the other as they too entered the hospital room.

Ruby's eyes were wide and full of dread at the words she heard. Everything was coming together and made sense- but she didn't want to accept it. She couldn't accept it. Not now, not ever. She didn't want to believe it. Surely, this was all an elaborate joke strung together by everyone behind her back, and there was nothing to worry about. Surely, her sister didn't really have amnesia..

But the look in Yang's eyes felt so real- too real to ever be a joke.

Tears had begun welling up in Ruby's eyes by the time she noticed the other two beside her, worry present in their faces just as her's was earlier. They knew instantly that they had stepped into a dark atmosphere and a tricky situation, but there was no time to turn back now.

"Hey.." was Blake's casual greeting to the girl sitting up in bed. Unlike the leader of the team, she had precisely avoided using the other's name, just in case this situation turned out more real than they had expected. Though she tried her best to remain 'normal', relaxed and calm, her tone faltered from it's usual confidence once she saw the lowered gaze of the blonde before her.

Staring at her hands, Yang gave a small nod in response. She wasn't sure what to say any more after she had clearly hurt the red headed girl. She didn't want to make these two new girls look that torn apart, especially with the concern they showed.

"How are you feeling..?" Weiss innocently questioned, finding it hard to direct her gaze away from her partner. Though she felt terrible just seeing Ruby in such a state, she knew she needed to address the owner of the hospital room first. That was who they were visiting after all.

"Alright." Yang nonchalantly responded, voice void of all emotion. The mere tone of it coming from Yang's voice sent chills up Weiss and Blake's spines. It was wrong. Yang was meant to speak with complete emotion, power, happiness.. not in a weak way that showed nothing but sadness.

With Ruby's increased sniffling, Weiss felt like she was going to burst. Exhaling deeply, she finally gave in to her urges, placing a comforting hand on her partner's back. She wanted to do even more- say even more- but she knew it wasn't the time or place for it. Yang was watching over them after all, and if the report had indeed been correct, it would end up awkward for all of them.

The doubt and hope that lay in all of their heart's was what drove the Schnee heiress to finally speak up once more. She knew that the response she received could possibly damage her leader's state and disappoint herself further than she already was, but she also knew she was the only one capable of doing it. Ruby was too broken to speak up, and she was afraid Blake would be too, since they were conversing to her partner. Weiss had to be strong, for their team..

"So.. I hate to be this upfront about it, but is it true..?" she slowly began, using the most gentle tone she had. She had to be careful as to not make things worse, and deepen their sadness. She had to be strong. Had to be strong, she reminded herself over and over. Strong..

"Is what true?" the blonde asked back, looking over at the white-haired girl. While the confusion showed in her gaze, she surveyed the other girl entirely. She had a scar over one eye, was dressed quite clean and formally, and seemed to have sharp eyes- eyes almost unfit for the soft tone she was using. Yang knew looks weren't everything, but she couldn't help noticing these things, and having her curiosity deepen.

"Is it true that.." But she stumbled. The words were hanging on her tongue, she was so close, and yet, they still didn't come out. It was almost as if they were shocking through her entire system, causing her to pause and falter. She swallowed, and took deep breaths. _'Strong, come on.. for everyone's sake..!' _Those were the words to finally recollect her. "..that you don't remember anything...?"

Yang paused. It was true- her mind recalled nothing, and it was almost disturbing her bland her world was with no memories. The doctors and nurses had informed her of her condition earlier as well, and given the situation, it seemed very real. There was no doubt about it. Although something inside her fast-beating heart urged her to lie, and to pretend like she hadn't lost her memories, she knew it wouldn't last long. If these people ever exposed her lie, they would be even more torn.

And that was something that she couldn't have.

Letting out a breath, her lilac eyes drifted to the window before running back to the white-haired girl who had spoken to her. "..all of you seem so close to me.. and so concerned for me already.. so I hate to be a bringer of bad news." she began in a hushed tone, unaware of how the other's were hanging onto every word she said. "But.. Yeah.. I guess it's true."

And at her truth-filled response, the room fell into an unbearable silence.

Although Weiss' gaze dimmed and her hand stayed on her partner's back, and Blake could feel her heart sinking into a loss of hope and disappointment, Ruby was the one who took the news the hardest. The tears that had pooled up were now falling from her eyes and wetting her cheeks, unable to stop flowing as the truth made itself clear in her head.

_Yang has amnesia. She doesn't remember you. All those memories you spent with your older sister have been lost to her, and you're nothing more than a stranger._

She felt horrible for acting in such a manner in front of her teammates, or in front of her sister- if she could even be called that anymore- but she couldn't stop herself. No matter how much she wanted to desperately escape reality, the truth was still there, haunting her, reminding her of what she had lost.

"..no.. way.." she choked through her sniffling and tears, internally appreciating her partner's comforting and silence.

_The real Yang has been lost. That person you know it now gone._

"..i-it can't be... true.."

_You, her, all of you are going to have to start over. That old Yang who always wears a smile and is always there for you isn't here anymore. Everything you hoped for in life has been restarted. _

The more words that flashed through her head, the more her body shook uncontrollably. It wasn't long before she reached a breaking point, and couldn't hold herself back any longer. Trying to forget about the presence of this new Yang in the room, the red head sobbed out loud, crying out as she clutched onto Weiss. Unable to protest, her partner merely hugged the other close, keeping as calm as possible.

The sight only made an indescribable amount of guilt and confusion well up inside Yang's chest. It was strange caring for strangers like this, especially when they seemed to know you so well. She couldn't help feeling responsible, and so a quiet, "..I'm sorry.." escaped her dry lips.

Just as she thought the words fell upon deaf ears, Blake shook her head, her face showing a dull sadness. "There's nothing to be sorry for.." she responded, bottling up all of her feelings behind a calm, collected expression. From the looks of it, she seemed to be taking the news the best, however this was far from true. Internally, she felt like all she had worked for during this last year at Beacon had been lost. Her partner had been lost, her light had been lost- so what was there to continue on for?

However, she couldn't accept giving up as an option, no matter how difficult it was to push on. "Really.. it can't be helped, I suppose." she continued, glancing over at the other two before returning her unreadable gaze to the blonde.

"I was... really special to you all.. wasn't I..? And yet, I'm bringing you down like this.." Yang voiced, looking over everyone with dull eyes. Though the words seemed to be true in all of their minds, it didn't mean the blonde deserved to think that way.

"You still are." Blake continued, knowing Weiss wasn't about to speak up at such a time. "It's just that.. we'll have to start over again.." The whole idea of starting over wasn't something the girl enjoyed thinking about or saying at the very least, but there was no avoiding it. Yang needed to be informed and told everything she had forgotten, even if things wouldn't return to normal ever again.

"Okay then.." The blonde casually responded with a nod, keeping her tone as soft as possible. While she didn't have anything else to say, she took this time to observe the dark-haired girl before her as well. She was going to have to familiarise herself with their faces sometime soon anyway, since they all seemed close.

Yang couldn't tell all that much just by looking at the girl, unlike the other. She had bright, almost sly looking yellow eyes and pale skin, along with flowing, black hair. She found it strange that the first thought that ran through her mind was that she was pretty and lucky to know someone this attractive, but she didn't dwell on it.

The room went silence for a few moments, before Weiss brought about the courage to speak up once more, still holding onto her partner. "Say.. I know this might not be the best time for you, but we'll come back in a few minutes, okay..?"

Though it was clear the girl had more to say, Yang decided to cut in, knowing full well of what was to come. "If you need a moment to collect yourselves, then that's fine by me. Take as long as you need, I'll still be here." And for some reason, she found herself wearing a smile.

Weiss seemed to stare at Yang's expression with shocked eyes, nodding her head. She hadn't been awake in the hospital for that long at all, and yet she was already able to smile for the sake of the rest of them. _'Maybe.. the Yang we knew.. isn't completely lost after all..?' _The thought ran through her head, but with all the stress, it was clouded by other thoughts and discarded. "Alright. Thanks.. we'll see you soon then."

And with those words and a sympathetic glance, the trio left the room, gazes lingering on the blonde for as long as they could. As soon as the door closed behind them and they trailed down the corridors, Yang immediately turned to the window beside her with a deep breath.

".. 'Yang', was it..?" she repeated to herself, recalling what the red headed girl had shouted upon entering the room. "Maybe.. that might be my name."

. . .

By this point in time, it had been roughly an hour or more since the RWB trio had left their final member's hospital room. Ruby had finally dried her eyes and was more comfortable with accepting the truth, but they were all still quite unnerved. They had all hit rock bottom in their thoughts, each either shedding tears or close to it during their time of silence and small talk. Sitting quietly in the hospital lobby, they thought in their own worlds, trying to make sense and truly accept with it all. Dealing with it was going to be much harder than they expected.

The light that guided Team RWBY had been extinguished and replaced with nothing but a dim flicker surrounded by darkness- of course they were going to feel lost.

It was only when Blake suddenly shot up from her chair, alerting the attention of her other two teammates when they were pulled from their dazed states. A shadow fell over her eyes, and with her fists clenched by her sides, it was hard to tell exactly what she was feeling beneath that mask of hers. "..what are we sitting around for?" she muttered, as the other two glanced around room, wearing the same shameful expression. "Sure, those memories, those days might be lost.. the Yang we used to know might be gone forever, but she isn't dead yet.." she continued, calming her shaking body. "..so there's nothing to be mourning about, right..? She needs help more than we do.. so we can't sit here all day while she's waiting.."

She wasn't one for motivational or moving speeches, but she did want to at least bring up the hopes of those close to her. Glancing over her shoulder to look at the other two, she gave a sorrowful smile. "..don't you want to bring back your teammate.. your friend.. your sister?"

The words definitely sent a jolt of shock through Ruby's body. Yang was still there in her room, waiting for her. And although she wasn't aware of it, it was only her memories that had changed- they were still sisters. That was something no injury or condition could ever change.

Her widened eyes found the floor beneath her feet as she stared blankly, letting the words come from her mouth without a thought. "..she's.. waiting for me.. huh..?" she murmured, unaware of Blake's questioning look. "..you're right, Blake.. you're right.." Although there was a dark mist in the back of her head, not wanting to take things optimistically or move on at all, Ruby wasn't about to let it control her. There wasn't a point in weeping when they weren't the ones in need of help, anyway.

"I'm sorry for being so.. so dramatic earlier.." she began to apologise, still not finding the courage to look up. "I.. I don't know what I was thinking, really, I just-"

"No point dwelling on it now, Ruby. It's in the past after all, and we can't go back." Weiss stepped in, also standing from her seat to join Blake. She wasn't wearing the same hopeful smile the other was, but it was easy to tell that she was looking at things the exact same way.

Struck by the double meaning of her partner's words, Ruby's gaze immediately flickered from the floor to meet those icy blue eyes. Almost as if they were the things leading her, the red head slowly rose from her seat, finding hope welling up within her chest once more. "R-Right.." she responded, firmly nodding her head.

"Now.. where were we..?" Blake began, looking around the bustling hospital once more. "We have a teammate to visit. Hopefully she hasn't fallen asleep on us.." And with that harmless joke, the group headed back through the hallways, on their way to Yang's room.

Luckily enough, when they arrived, the blonde was not actually asleep. She looked more awake than their earlier visit actually, curious eyes blinking about the white-walled hospital room. Though their usual, positive burning light was no where to be found, the darkness that plagued them earlier wasn't present either. She looked more dull than anything else, but seeing the other in such a blank state was still hard to bare.

Feeling her heart pound in her chest, Ruby was the first one to step back into the thick atmosphere. The smile on her face faltered once her gaze met her sister's- for a moment she considered turning and leaving the room altogether- but she shook her head and widened it. She couldn't back out anymore. Yang needed her more than she had ever had before, after all.

The other two teammates followed suit behind her, joining by Yang's bedside and taking the chairs stationed there. Though their expressions weren't completely despair-filled, they weren't hopeful either, merely a balance that could be described as calm.

"Hey, we're back, just like we said." Ruby greeted, giving her older sibling an innocent smile.

"Yeah, I can see that.." the other replied casually, trying not to be offensive or cold as she did so. It seemed it wasn't taken that way either, thankfully enough, and the atmosphere was a lot lighter than earlier on. There was still a sense of awkward interactions between them all, but that was something that would take getting used to.

"Before we get to anything though, I just wanted to apologise for before.. I ah, I kinda overreacted, that's all. I know it must have been hard or awkward for you and all, so.. yeah.. sorry about that.." she continued, gaze lowering to find the floor. The blonde just stared at the other, blinking as she nodded her head.

"Oh.. that's okay.. it's only natural, after all. Hopefully.. hopefully you're okay now though.." _She still cares about me. _Those were the words that ran through Ruby's head at the response she received, head lifting from the floor immediately. She felt her eyes burning and tears beginning to form already, as she was clearly unprepared for what responses the other would give, but blinked them away. She wasn't about to seem weak in front of Yang again.

"Ah, yes, I'm fine, really. Thanks for.. asking." And just like that, their conversation stilled, and the team found themselves in another awkward silence already. A minute or so passed before one of them spoke up again, pushing their conversation forward and to the point they originally came for.

"So anyway.. you don't remember anything at all, correct..?" Blake asked innocently, in a calming manner. The patient was thankful for how much they all had collected themselves in the time that passed, saving more awkward moments on her end. She let out a deep breath of relief.

"I guess not." was her blunt response. She couldn't find much else to say or explain, so she simply waited for more questions. She was sure they would have many they wanted to ask anyway, and if she could, she was more than happy to answer them.

"..nothing about yourself..? Us? Or memories?" the faunas continued, trying to wrap her head aroung things also.

"Nothing. It's like.. like my mind was wiped clean." she explained, trying to find the words to piece it all together. "I.. still have knowledge on most things though.. so I won't need to go through school again or anything."

"I'd sure hope not." Weiss chimed in, trying to remove the stiffness of everyone in the room. It was a strange role for the girl to be filling, but the other two didn't seem to be doing a good enough job at it. "But anyway, that means we'll just have to inform you on everything you've forgotten, isn't that right?"

"Yeah, I.. guess so." she responded, eyes lowering to her arms sitting on her lap. "You can.. take however long you need to think about and explain things. I'll.. do my best to listen and relearn everything.." Yang's willingness and consideration for the group was really fascinating to say the least, especially with how calm and nonchalant she was acting. The trio decided to make the most of it, and try to relax themselves out as much as possible.

"Alright then.. well, I guess an appropriate place to start would be on yourself." Ruby decided, earning nods from the other two. The blonde's curiosity was only heightened at the words, eyes widened as she stared at the red head. She happened to notice her shining, silver eyes and dyed hair, and her youthful face, but didn't speak a word of it.

"I'm all ears.." she confirmed.

And with a deep breath, she began to explain everything the group felt they needed to tell their lost team member.

Everything they needed to finally restart.


	2. Chapter 2: July 28th

**Chapter 2: So That's The Answer**

She wasn't sure how much time had properly passed, but it was enough for Yang to finally wrap her head around the confusing mess she found herself in. There, she sat, with all the basic knowledge she needed in her head, and a single diary in her hands. It had been given to her by her little sister Ruby, and although it wasn't even A4 size- it was barely bigger than her hand outstretched- it seemed precious to her.

The blonde had written her first entry in it minutes before and had just hooked her pen into the book's spiral spine, when she let out a sigh. Things weren't exactly 'normal', but they did seem more peaceful than earlier. Most things actually made sense in her mind now, despite how much information she actually had to take in.

_'I'm Yang Xiao Long. I'm training to be a Huntress, and my weapons are these yellow gauntlets on my wrists. My battle partner's Blake Belladonna, and my younger sister's Ruby Rose. Her partner is Weiss Schnee. Together, we make up Team RWBY. We all attend Beacon Academy together.. and apparently there are more people I have to meet soon.' _She reviewed in her head, making sure she had her facts straight. _'I think that's it.'_

With everyone outside the room save for herself, she found it the time most appropriate to finally get some rest. The sun was beginning to paint the sky orange as it set outside the window, and though she hadn't told the others, she had been growing tired ever since she first woke up- not to mention the throbbing headache she found herself with. Although she hadn't quite realised, bandages were covering many areas beneath her clothing already, so it was natural for her body to be worn out.

_'I was involved in some big incident before I was moved to this hospital.. but outside of that, I don't know much more, do I..?' _Her thoughts never seemed to cease wondering about the littlest of things. _'..in fact, now that I think about it..' _The girl's lilac eyes narrowed in an attempt to make out her reflection in the glass before her, but the bed was positioned too far away for her to see anything clearly but outside. _'..I don't even know what I look like yet, besides my body shape and my blonde hair.'_

But just like that, the girl released her thoughts out into the silence of the room, shutting her eyes closed. _'..but now's not the time for that, huh..? I guess.. it wouldn't hurt to get some rest.'_ Pressing the control by her arm, she lowered the bed so it's mattress became parallel with the floor. Finally lying in a relaxing position, she let out one deep breath.

Shuffling in her bed a little, her limbs began to ache somewhat from the motion, but it soon dulled. Yang wasn't about to think much of it, and just like that, she drifted off to sleep.

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**Day 2: 28th of July**

I never expected that the first thing I would do this morning would be to write in my diary. Okay, maybe I did, but still. It's kinda amazing how attached to someone or something I can get in one, confusing day. Anyway, I don't think I'm going to be getting out of this hospital for a few days.. I only noticed it this morning while tossing about in bed, but I do have quite the number of bandages covering me. I can only imagine what kind of wounds lie beneath them..

It might take a while to heal, but I hope everything will come together soon. On that note, I sure hope my sister and the others visit me again today.. they said they'll stop by, but they never specified when. It gets lonely easily in this hospital room, it really does.

I can only pass time by writing here, sleeping, and waiting. That's all I can really do for now anyway.

Oh, and as a side note, I still have no idea what I look like.

I'll write back sometime later.

* * *

The lonely blonde had nodded off to sleep due to boredom and fatigue many times before the awaited visits came from her teammates. With her diary close beside her recovering body, the door swung open. She was expecting it to be another doctor or nurse coming in to check on her like it had been previously, but as soon as she saw vividly coloured figures step through the door frame, her eyes widened. They definitely did not belong to the bland staff of the hospital.

"Hey, we're back." Ruby greeted with a gentle smile, leading the other two into the room as they crowded around their last member's bedside.

"I noticed.." was the other's casual response, voice and face void of the usual overflowing emotion she portrayed. The reminder of such a dull Yang brought amount a sickening feeling in Ruby's stomach, but it wasn't enough to sway her optimistic appearance. Weiss and Blake seemed calm enough around her, so the girl saw no need in bringing down the mood again.

"How do you feel?" she continued, holding onto her arms behind her back. It was a nervous habit really- if the old Yang had seen it she would have recognised it as one straight away. However, no such comment came, and the patient merely took it as another stance and display of body language.

"Somewhat.. better. Especially now that I'm not alone.." With her voice breathy and weak proving its lack of use, the girl gave a light-hearted smile.

_'She's able to smile, even in a situation like this... I guess some things really don't change, huh..?' _Ruby thought, returning the smile with a widened one of her own. Her silence allowed the other two to finally get a word in, and begin rebuilding the connections they had lost.

"That's a relief.." Weiss piped in, eyes unable to focus on the blonde, instead aimed towards the tiled ground.

"We're.. sorry if we took too long. We didn't mean to keep you waiting, if that's what you were doing.." Blake added, fingers nervously fumbling about in front of her. Her battle partner shook her head.

"You shouldn't have to apologise for something like that. This is a hospital after all, it's bound to be this empty every day." she casually responded, smile managing to wither away as she gazed over the group before her. She cast a small glance at the diary underneath her palm, causing an idea to instantly pop into her otherwise empty head, after which she met the faunas' eyes with her own. "..really.. Blake, Weiss, Ruby.. I appreciate all of you stopping by as it is."

And that seemed to strike directly into her team member's hearts. Although they had obviously heard their own name in Yang's voice many times in the past, hearing in that different, uncharacteristic and monotone voice made it feel different. It was almost wrong to hear. It only reminded them; only strengthened their thoughts of how this person was different to the one they knew.

_Yang was lost, and their heads continued reminding them that at every given time._

The silence and grim looks she received instantly made guilt well up in Yang's chest once more, along with a chain of confusion. Did she do something wrong? Did she do something right? Should she use their names more often or stop using it completely? She wasn't sure what to think and almost began to panic before she received a response, cutting off her thoughts.

"Well, why wouldn't we stop by? We're not a team without you, Yang.." Ruby explained with a smile. Even her sister could tell at a glance that what was hidden behind that smile was an indescribable sadness that she didn't want to show, but the blonde wasn't about to make things worse. She assumed that the more she said, the worse her friends would feel, and so opted to say as little as possible.

But even with this idea fixated in her head, her curiosity thought otherwise. She still felt the need to know more, to ask more, to be told and listen to more. She felt so lost and empty, and she needed to be filled up with everything she had forgotten. Becoming a new person was a strange feeling, so she wanted to know as much as she could so she could start over. It was going to be painful for them all whether or not she questioned them anyway..

And so, with these conflicting thoughts in her head, Yang had to settle with a neutral response. "...you still think I'm a part of your team, even like this?" Though her words seemed to spark doubts in her sister's mind, she nodded, confirming her statement.

"Of course you are. You lost you memories of us, sure, but that doesn't mean.. that doesn't mean we can't try to start over again." she continued. The words she spoke seemed to be hurting her, Yang noted, and yet she still kept a smile on her youthful face.

"Ruby's right." Weiss stepped in, turning Yang's attention to her. "It might be hard for all of us, for everyone, but.. we can't just leave you behind. You're still important to us, no matter how difficult that must be to believe." It was clear the group was just trying to turn to a more optimistic view and lighten everything as much as possible, but no matter how much they said; no matter how much they tried to convince themselves otherwise, that element of despair still lingered in their hearts.

_Things will never be the same, no matter how hard we try. _The words ran through all of their head's, despite how much they wanted to believe otherwise.

"...you guys... I'm sorry that I still don't know you well enough... but you're all kind people, I can tell that much." Yang responded, unconsciously gripping the surface of her diary. "I can only imagine how fortunate I must have been.. to have been close to people like you." And that's when she decided to pause- she saw it again. She saw the misery and the longing seeping out from her heart through their eyes, and couldn't say anything more.

Just as she thought her words couldn't make things any worse however, her curiosity decided to heighten. Questions ended up bottling up and filling her mind, overflowing to the point where she could barely hold them in. Her thirst for knowledge and her unease of remaining a blank slate was beginning to get under her skin- even if she had learnt quite the amount already, in the past day. Knowing names, faces, and small background information wasn't enough.

Clearing her dry throat, Yang's eyes scanned the room before ending up focused outside. The sun was barely visible through the leaves and branches of the trees outside, she noticed, letting out a relaxed sigh at the calming scenery. It wasn't impressive, but it wasn't distracting either, which was something she was grateful for. "..say.. I hate bringing this stuff up, but.." She took a deep breath in, licking her cracked lips. "..exactly.. what kind of person.. was I?"

At the words that hung in the room, the three other members of team RWBY had all kinds of flashbacks and memory recollections, they could barely process it all. Ruby's head was suddenly filled with all the days Yang had spent with her through her childhood and all the times she had always been there, with a smile, ready to push on towards the next day. For Weiss and Blake, it was mainly their adventures and experiences with the lively blonde girl, including moments where all they did was yell at each other, or fight beside each other.

It was difficult to form words to respond to the clueless girl in bed, but they knew they couldn't leave the room in silence. "You were more amazing than any of us could ever be.." Without thinking, the melancholic words slipped from Ruby's mouth. Regret flooded her stomach as soon as she realised what she had sent, and her eyes flicked up to her teammates. Thankfully enough, she hadn't said anything bad enough to set off a reaction from them, and no one turned to see the pleading expression she sent their way.

That is, excluding Yang. The younger sister was oblivious to the concerned, dull gaze that fell upon her from her older sister. She caught every sign of struggle that showed on her face, and it only worsened the weight settling in her chest. The piled up regret, confusion, hurt, guilt. All of the emotions she felt and just couldn't understand.

"Really, though.. you.. you were.." Glancing to the wall through the corner of her tear-blurred vision, Ruby continued on through the quiet room. It was awkward describing someone's personality to that person, but it was necessary. It was needed. It was the help Yang needed, so she was going to go through with it for her. "..bright. Smile. Happy.." At first, she only found mere words coming from her mouth. They were the only thing she could describe her sister with. "Caring.. loud.. funny.." But the more she continued, the more her heart throbbed and ached. _'I can't.. I can't turn around. Come on, I just need to.. say some more sentences.. it's not that hard, and sis will appreciate it..'_

Sniffling, she wiped at her cloudy eyes. "S-Sorry.." she briefly said, before shaking her head. "..you were.. always happy and smiling. You.. had a burning passion for everything you set your mind to.. always willing to help out and cheer up others.. encourage them.. you were like a beacon of light.. a flame that would never be able to be distinguished." she explained. Listening to the words of her broken teammate, Weiss and Blake kept their gazes dull and low to the ground. Yang merely listened with a sympathetic frown, nodding her head when necessary.

"Fire was.. always something you were associated with.. n-not in a bad, destructive way or anything..! I just.. you always backed us up, and fought along us with such pride.. even your weapons would become engulfed in the flames it sparked. You really were an admirable, amazing person." The red head finally stopped, waiting for if the other two had anything to add. The silence dragged on for an uncomfortable period of time though, and she found herself exhaling.

"You were quick to anger.. if someone said something that annoyed you, or someone threatened someone you cared for, you wouldn't show them mercy.." she continued, but not for long.

"...if it helps, you were protective over that hair of yours, too." Weiss explained, folding her arms in front of her chest. "If one single strand was ripped from your head, you wouldn't hesitate to seriously _beat up _whoever was responsible." The words seemed to bring up the atmosphere somewhat, even if it wasn't much. It was enough for the blonde to let out a suppressed chuckle though, shaking her head.

"Really now..?"

"Really." Weiss confirmed. "It was almost scary. Your eyes would turn red and everything. It was quite the sight, actually." That's when Yang stopped, blinking as she raised her eyebrows in confusion. She glance at her hands and her lap before returning her questioning gaze to the white-haired girl before her.

"Say.." she began, slow and calm. "..what.. colour.. are my eyes, anyway..?"

The realisation of what the words meant were slow amongst the group before them, but as soon as it sunk it, they found themselves more uptight than ever before. It seemed to be up to the faunas of the group to break such tense situations with her calming manner, even if she was just as unsettled on the inside.

"..you.. really haven't seen your own face, have you?" Yang shook her head. Blake's eyes fell to the floor. "One moment, then." The girl looked around the hospital room quickly, just in case there was a conveniently places mirror somewhere in the room. However, even when she searched through drawers and dressers in the small room, she turned up empty-handed. Something inside her chest tugged and urged her not to give up however. She didn't like the idea of leaving her partner in the dark, especially about something as important as her own appearance.

Blake quickly scanned outside of the hospital room, making sure the coast was clear of any doctors or staff before she turned back to the group, facing Ruby. "Ruby, could I ask you of a big favour..?" The question was unexpected despite the eye contact, and the younger blinked her eyes both in confusion and in an attempt to clear her tears.

"What is it..? I don't have a mirror on me, if that's what you're going to ask.."

"No, nothing like that. I was just wondering if..." Her words trailed off as she thought about the words on the tip of her tongue. "..if you had you're phone on you, that's all." The idea was slow to come to her head, but Ruby seemed to understand, and instantly whipped out her cell phone from her pocket- well, it wasn't really her's. She had been holding onto Yang's cell phone as well, and it happened to be the device she pulled from her skirt pocket first. Noticing this, she hesitated to hand it over to her friend, eyes lingering on the other's blank face.

"You know, we're not really supposed to use our phones in here, right...?" Ruby whispered, almost feeling herself being crushed by the thick atmosphere around her, and the weight she felt.

"I know... says the person carrying two phones on their person." was the other's blank response, which almost offended the red headed girl. Without wasting another minute, Blake handed the mobile to the patient in bed. Though puzzled at first, she hesitantly accepted the offering, and stared at the screen with dull eyes.

"Um. You... do know what a phone is, right?" Ruby cluelessly asked, put off by the confusion and lack of emotion on the other's face. It would usually be easy to tell what emotions Yang was going through, but when she was in such a clean state, everything became difficult- even for the one who knew her the best.

"I know I've forgotten a lot of things, but seriously. I know what a phone is..." Though the response was nonchalant, Ruby's nerves doubled at the words, causing her to feel even more ridiculous than she already did. Shuffling on her feet uncomfortably, her worry-filled gaze altered to the ground beneath her, not saying another word.

"Hey, Ruby." Weiss whispered, edging closer to her partner. The other looked out of the corner of her eye to make eye contact with her, face baring an unfitting frown and scrunched eyebrows. "There's nothing to worry about.. we're all going to try our best for Yang. We know how much you care, but it'll take... some time... so you've got to be strong, okay...?"

At first, Ruby couldn't help being startled. It was strange how easily she could be read- either that, or how well her partner actually knew her and could assume the thoughts she was going through. Expression dulling as she let out a deep breath, she nodded her head, managing a soft smile- one she earned in return from the white-haired girl before they both turned to the scene before them.

"If the reflection isn't clear enough for you, use the front camera, alright...?" Blake instructed, holding onto her arm in a nervous stance. The blonde nodded her head in obedience, swiping at the screen, before pausing. All she did was stare at the clear screen, aimed towards the ceiling, as the other three grew increasingly worried.

That is, before Yang displayed the screen to the others for them to see. "It's got a passcode." was what she bluntly stated as the three almost sighed in sync. "A little help...?"

"Oh, here, sorry about that." Ruby immediately responded, swallowing down before taking the phone into her own hands. The other didn't argue, and allowed her to type in the required passcode before handing it back to the puzzled girl. "It's 'embercelica', just so you know..."

For a password, Yang had to admit it was kinda ridiculous. What type of words were they, anyway? Where did they come from? She wasn't about to say it out loud however, as her sister's tone seemed almost too disappointed for her to interrupt. _'I don't... want to hurt them...' _she reminded herself, looking over the phone's black casing.

But even then, her curiosity managed to trump her concern. "Say, who's phone is this, anyway?" she questioned, just for good measure. It seemed that even that question wasn't as innocent as it sounded, as the silence reached the room again.

"It's... yours." Ruby reluctantly informed, hating how she had to be the one to break the silence each time.

"It's mine...? Like, it was always mine...?" Yang blinked. That was not the answer she had ever expected to receive. The younger girl nodded her head, forcing a smile onto her face- but the older could tell it wasn't genuine in the least.

"Yeah. It's always been yours." she continued, brushing the tip of her black boot against the white tiles of the hospital floor. "And... just so you know, 'Ember Celica' is the name of your weapons... you remember how we explained that earlier, right?"

"I do. So these gauntlet things... have names?" Yang repeated, making sure she got the facts right. "Do your weapons have names too, or was I just that special, ridiculous person who named these things?"

"Ah, no, they've all got names, trust me. It's not as strange as it first sounds..." Ruby answered with a nervous laugh. She still didn't seem to get a full hang of how to act cheerful in her sister's place. "Mine's called Crescent Rose, Weiss' is Myrtenaster, and Blake's is Gambol Shroud." The other nodded along in understanding.

"Okay then... hopefully I'll be able to remember that, eventually." And as she ended the conversation there, she flicked through the windows of her phone, opening up the camera application. Almost instantaneously, the menu switched out for a live-action view of the front camera- displaying Yang's face right back at her.

All she could do was blink, stare, and marvel at the reflection. It was something so simple, and yet for the hospitalised girl, it was so fascinating. Finally knowing what your own face looks like answered a lot in her mind, and she wasn't about to get over it anytime soon. Adjusting the angle of the camera accordingly, she inspected the rest of her hair and face in as much detail as she could. Of all things, she definitely didn't want to forget what her own face looked like all over again.

"...huh..." she muttered, feeling the other's anticipating gazes on her. "Purple... eyes? Is that really natural...?"

"Hey, your eyes turn red when you get mad. Is that natural? Apparently so." Weiss was quick to answer, folding her arms with her signature scowl. Unlike usual though, she didn't feel any bubbling annoyance or the need to be arrogant towards the other girl, and was merely putting on something like a show. She had to act like everything was normal for the sake of Ruby- for the sake of the whole team, even.

"And you're being 100% serious when you say that they change colour...?" The patient wanted to make sure the others weren't just toying with her and feeding her ridiculous information- but at that question, more doubts sparked in her mind. What if they had been lying to her this entire time? What if they hadn't been friends at all? What if this stuff about Beacon, Huntresses and fighting was all one huge lie that she happened to fall for, because she didn't know any better?

"I'm dead serious." the cold girl assured, with a nod of her head. Yang glanced over outside the window before she hid away her thoughts, pushing them aside as her eyes returned to the screen in front of her.

"Okay then..." she brushed off, feeling not a single emotion run through her but confusion. She needed to trust these people, sure, but that was going to be easier said then done. "...is my hair always this messy? What's up with this single strand sticking up, too...?"

"Yeah, that's pretty normal." Ruby commented with a small smile. She found it amusing how Yang was so amused and yet questioning of her own appearance, even if it was, in a way, sad to watch. "That's just one pesky strand that you never seem to be able to tame down."

"And I was protective over _this?" _

"...yup." was her casual response.

"...right. Nice to know." _'I'll never be able to grasp exactly what kind of person I was before, will I...?' _The blonde hopelessly thought, mind clearly beginning to whirl from her blank state to a pessimistic one. Finally hitting the home button with a stern face, she dropped the phone flat onto her lap, resting her arms by her sides once more. "I have to say though, its not what I was expecting, and... I guess I don't look half that bad." she noted with an innocent smile.

"Sure. You can say that again once you see all the boys at Beacon..." Ruby muttered, through a sorrowful smile of her own. She wasn't about to lie, she missed the old days they all spent together already- hell, she did from the moment she stepped into the room yesterday, but as time progressed, the feeling only seemed to amplify.

"Huh...?" Yet again, the blonde didn't seem to quite understand.

"Boys were practically dropping dead by your feet, or staring whenever you walked by, or greeted them. In fact, there were even instances were it wasn't only boys who stopped to awe at you." Weiss explained with a huff. "I'd say I know how that feels, but my case wasn't _quite _to your extent. Even teachers were winking at you."

"...isn't that... a little creepy?" Yang asked with disgust in her tone. It wasn't the thought of females drooling over her though- it was the image of teachers doing such acts. The horrid, horrid images of the teachers..

"It was _very _creepy, no doubt."

"...and a little awkward?"

"You bet."

"...was I really that eye-captivating?"

"...you still are, moron. It's not like that much has changed." was Weiss final, cold mutter as she glanced away. Because of this, she remained oblivious to the glances of all the girls on her figure, and shut her eyes. It seemed that just by saying those few words, hope began to tug at all of their thoughts.

_Things aren't over yet._

But even then, it couldn't quite overthrow the rest of worries, thoughts, and truths that filled the rest of them.

. . .

* * *

**Day 2: 28th of July**

Continuing on from where I last left off, I think I'm feeling more content than before. After spending most of the day conversing with everyone, I know more about personal information and details, so I'm more comfortable... I still don't know how to act or what to really say around everyone yet, but that's something that'll take a while to get used to. I shouldn't rush things... but I still feel so guilty. I still feel like it's my fault they're hurting, and it's my fault we can't go back to how things used to be...

Anyway, now that it's getting late and I'm alone, I'm going to get some rest.

Good night everyone, my diary, and I'll write back tomorrow.

* * *

**A/N: The next chapter is finally here~! QvQ And it's in celebration of the new episode, if no one noticed. o3o**

**Don't forget to leave a review of what you think. I don't bite~**

**See you in the next one!**


	3. Chapter 3: July 29th - August 1st Part I

**Chapter 3: I'll Be Okay**

* * *

**Day 3: 29th of July**

Being completely honest here, ever since yesterday, I've been doing one of three things- sleeping, obviously, staring at the door and waiting for the others to visit, or staring at my gauntlets. At least, what they told me were my gauntlets. They look like thick, yellow wrist bracelets act the moment. I really don't get how they're used for fighting yet, but anyway... I guess I still don't get a lot of things. Ruby, Weiss, Blake... they all still look so sad inside, whenever they look at me. I can understand why, but I can't shake this feeling of guilt.

Oh- doctors coming in. Give me a moment.

* * *

**Day 3: 29th of July**

Update, the doctors are gone. (duh.) But any way, they said I can be deployed in a few days... so I guess that means I'll have to go back to Beacon, or whatever. I can't even imagine how confusing that'll be, or how many people will give me the same looks my team do. Great... I never thought I'd say it, but I have to make the most of this hospital while I'm here... even if the food does suck.

On another note, the view outside from here is pretty nice. Okay, it's pretty normal actually. Just a bunch of trees and roads, but it's better than it could be. It gives me something to look at, at least, to keep me from boring myself to death.

Speaking of death, I don't feel too bad, physically. I'm definitely seeing improvement in my wounds already, which is a relief. Now that I think about it, I haven't gotten out of bed for a while... hopefully I can actually walk with all these bandages on me. Maybe I should try and strut through the halls like Weiss said I used to. Maybe I should make a few puns while I'm at it.

...kidding. That sounds kinda ridiculous... which only makes me wonder- will I eventually end up acting the same way I used to, or will I become someone else? It's hard to think about since it doesn't really make sense, but I'm sure it's a valid question. I'm sure the others have asked themselves that, too...

And while I'm on the subject, I'm just going to write it out now. I'm trying my absolute best for them, but... it really is hard to keep smiling.

* * *

**Day 4: 30th of July**

I ended on such a sad note yesterday. It makes me feel kinda bad in a way. What am I talking about? It makes me feel bad in every way...

Any way. I wonder what time they'll come to visit me today. They've been dropping in every day to check on me, and I can't say how thankful I am for it. I guess with each visit, I'm that much closer to finally... well, becoming someone. When I think about it, I just say what I want, so I've been wiped clean of a personality. It feels as dull as it sounds, trust me, but I don't really know any better.

...it really is boring here in the hospital.

I've been tapping my pen against the page for a while now, and I still don't know what to do or write. I'm not thinking of anything else, so I can't write much, but I have nothing else to do.

Maybe going back to Beacon won't be as bad as it sounds.

Maybe... either that, or it will turn out to be ten times more horrible than I first anticipated.

Yeah... I hope it's the former.

* * *

**Day 5: 31st of July**

I've just been told that I can be deployed from this place tomorrow. In other words, Beacon Academy is one day away.

_One day._

I really don't know what do think of that. To say I'm worried is an understatement... but to say I'm dreading it wouldn't quite be exact. It's more like I feel pretty nervous, anxious... I don't want to see anyone else with those looks of misery. Even after five days of visits- including earlier today when they dropped in- they haven't changed.

Speaking of earlier today, a few more friends who I'll be seeing tomorrow were mentioned to me. Team JNPR, I think it was. I can't remember most of their names, sadly enough... it was like, Jaune, P.. P something. Nora, and Rin? Len? I don't know. I'm glad my team has simple names, at least. I might need to ask them about those guys before I meet them tomorrow.

Meeting people who've already met me is a strange thought. They could know the deepest secrets about me that I myself aren't even aware of. Okay, that's a _really _strange thought. Moving on before I end up creeping myself out...

I really hope everything turns out well tomorrow.

* * *

**Day 6: 1st of August**

I was woken up really early today, and I know exactly why. Leaving this place, hooray...

Next stop, Beacon Academy.

* * *

And just as the blonde closed her diary, the doctor in the room opened the door, allowing a certain familiar trio to walk through the doors. Yang couldn't tell if their faces were more cheerful or sorrowful than before, but something about their presence gave off a different vibe. Ruby gave a bright smile and waved, still shaking in her firm stance. "Hey, sis!" she greeted.

"Oh, hey. You're here earlier than usual..." the blonde pointed out, glancing at the clock. It was a little past 7 in the morning, and the sun was barely present in the sky outside.

"That's because we had to come get you. It wouldn't be nice if we came in late or something, you know...?" the red-head continued, giving a laugh that only came across as nervous. It seemed Yang wasn't the only one who had had thoughts and worries of the day that was to come. In fact, those very thoughts had kept the younger sister up later than usual on most nights, not that she mentioned this to her teammates.

"I guess." she brushed off, giving them a neutral gaze. Before any of them could get another word in, the doctor approached them, speaking a few quiet words to them. He then handed Ruby a clipboard and pen, waiting as she scribbled down a few notes and words before handing it back. With a nod and a smile, the white-coated male exited the room, giving them their space.

"So..." Yang started up again, unable to quench my curiosity. "...I'm really getting out of this place and going back to the academy?" Her partner nodded her head, giving a gentle, welcoming smile.

"Yes, that's right. You won't have to attend classes until you deem yourself comfortable though, so you don't have to worry about that much..." she explained, joining the others as they approached by the other's bedside.

"Oh, okay." The girl wasn't about to mention how classes weren't the things on her mind, in fear of screwing things up again, so she tilted her head and gave an innocent response. "Are classes as boring as they sound?"

The question seemed to amuse Blake, who let out a sigh and a shake of her head. It wasn't her who got the time to respond though, as Weiss stepped in first. "...no, they're not. They're beneficial, not boring. They're only boring if you don't _pay attention..." _she trailed off, giving a glare at Ruby. The other girl shook her hands in front of her in defense.

"H-Hey! Don't give me that look! I try my best, I promise...!" The words didn't seem to have any effect on the other's cross attitude.

_'I suppose that kind of like-hate relationship is normal between those two...?' _Yang noted with dull eyes, watching the scene unfold before her. If she wanted to act as normal as possible, she would need to learn what kind of behaviour was normal- which included the attitude of her team mates as well.

"_Sure_ you do..." The white-haired girl dismissed, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she looked away from the desperate girl. Ruby let out a long sigh in defeat, resting her arms by her sides as she looked back up at her sister, wearing a smile.

"Any way..." she dismissed, moving the spotlight over from herself to Yang. "We can leave whenever you're ready, sis." she offered in a friendly tone. Allowing the silence to take over the room, the other girl pondered on the offer. She made sure the atmosphere didn't turn awkward before she gave her own response.

"Okay then." she began, mentally noting how dry her throat was. A drink of water before they left would be nice. "...I think I've spent enough time here as it is, so... if you want, we could leave sometime soon." Though internally, Yang knew she was not ready. She had been held up in a hospital for almost a week now, and it was like the cage that was binding her was about to be broken. She was about to enter the real world again, and go through the most painful moments she would ever remember. The thought of how others would react, friend or not, was an intimidating one.

"Alright then..." her sister responded, looking nervously around the room. "Say, can you actually stand up...?" The question came off as quite harsh- I mean, it sounded ridiculous as it was- but the team knew she had good intentions. It didn't offend the patient at all, and she merely blinked, looking down at her own, motionless body.

"I... I don't actually know. Hopefully, yes...?" was the clumsy response that came as her eyes shifted back on her sister. "I can... I can try." Now that she had time to think about it, she realised how much time she had spent doing nothing by lie in a bed, almost completely motionless. With how little she ate, her body was bound to have lost a little strength and muscle, but that was the least of her concerns. Preparation for this so-called 'training' at Beacon could wait.

"Alright... here, we can help you, if you want." Ruby muttered, taking a small step back to give the other room. Yang merely nodded her head in understanding, before stretching her arms overhead.

"...moving's going to be a pain, isn't it...?" she murmured to herself, before finally preparing herself for movement. It sounded strange, preparing yourself to do something as simple as stand up, but for the injured girl, it was like a whole new step forward. Slowly, she held onto her small diary with her left hand, using her right to gradually pull the covers off her upright body.

_'These hospital gowns really are horrid.' _she noted with a frown. It was because of these terrible gowns that she hadn't fully understood why she was an eye-captivating figure at Beacon.

From there, she twitched her covered feet, almost as if to warm them up. They were almost numb when she finally, slowly pulled her legs up to her chest. Pushing her arms against the bed for support, she managed to twist her weak figure around and swing her legs off the side of the bed. She now sat on the edge of the mattress, facing the window that she stared out of every day.

"What do you know, I actually did something." she announced, uncaring for whether the others were paying attention or not. The truth was, each of them were playing very close attention to the other's hesitant movements. They were all on stand-by, ready to approach if she did falter. Of all things, it would be disastrous for her to injure her self again, after finally being allowed to be deployed.

However, as she slowly began to shift her weight off the bed and onto her feet, the first problem rose. Not only was her whole upper body shaking, but her legs below were as well, clearly unprepared to support Yang's entire body weight as of yet. It didn't take much to notice this either, and because Blake was the closest to the injured girl, she took it upon herself to act.

"Here." Without another word, the faunas gently grabbed onto the other's free hand, calming her upper figure. Making sure to be there to support the other, she kept her eyes glued on her partner as her weak body slid from the bed and finally stood upright. Though her balance was a bit shaky, to say the least, Yang let out a sigh in relief.

"Thanks, Blake..." she quietly spoke with a small smile, holding onto her diary with her other hand. The other nodded and let out a noise of understanding and did nothing more. For some reason, she couldn't quite allow herself to let go of Yang's strangely cold hand. The blonde felt the exact same way, but only because she was completely relying on the other to keep her steady.

"Can you... stand on your own?" The black-haired girl asked, genuine curiosity shining in her eyes. The other met her gaze for a moment, before glancing back down at her unsteady feet.

"Um..." The blonde slowly began to release her partner's hands, though her entire legs continued to tremble underneath her. She could stand for sure, but she wasn't entirely sure she would be able to walk at all. Her feet didn't respond when she thought about taking a step forward, almost as if they were glued to the tiled floor. "Somehow, I don't think walking will be as easy, though..."

Though she tried her best to keep her cool composure, her hesitation was clear when Blake brought herself to grasp back onto one of Yang's hands. "Alright... just don't let go, okay?" The blonde nodded.

"Okay." Meanwhile, Ruby and Weiss watched in silence. While the latter didn't care much, or was rather thankful the two could begin rebuilding their relation, Ruby wasn't so sure. Something about Blake helping out her sister instead of herself felt... wrong. It was possibly because she had been there for her sister plenty times in the past, and she felt she needed to be the closest with her, but she couldn't exactly pinpoint the reason.

"Are you sure you're okay?" the red-head questioned, with a caring smile.

"I'm sure." was the other's casual response, seeming to be quite sure of herself.

"That's good..." But just as the words left the younger sibling, she remembered another vital piece of information, and her face lit up. "Oh, that's right!" she began. "Um, we brought a change of clothes for you, but... um, would you be able to change them yourself like this...?"

Seeing her sister bring up a good point, Yang stopped for a moment, ignoring the gazes she was receiving from all directions. "Uh... possibly...? It doesn't hurt to try...? I have to do things on my own eventually." the other responded with an emotionless stare. It was a little off-putting for anyone that wasn't used to it, but the girls in the room were by then.

The younger sibling nodded. "Alright. Give me... one moment, then." she requested, before she bolted from the room, merging with the bustling crowd of the hospital corridors. The group of girls stood around waiting for her to return, and soon enough she did, cradling a small pile of folded clothes to her chest. It wasn't that difficult to recognise the black pants and orange singlet top as a set of Yang's casual clothing. "Here. You can hold onto them for now, while me and Weiss sort out the rest of the paperwork, okay?"

"That's, 'Weiss and I', not 'me and Weiss'." The girl's partner pointed out with a disappointed sigh.

"Oh. Right. Aha..." was the other's nervous response as she transferred the clothing over to Blake, making sure the other could hold onto it with her single, free hand.

"That's okay." Blake responded, after successfully grasping on the clothing. With a faint smile, the red-head gave a small wave before the duo disappeared around the corner. The faunas could only hope those two would actually fill out all the documents properly- who knows what kind of mistakes they could make if they were left alone. Despite having intense worries for the safety of the situation, the girl knew she had another problem to deal with, and turned to her partner. "Here... follow me, okay? You can go get changed." she instructed, tightening her grip on the other's hand.

"Um... okay." the blonde responded with a squeeze of her own, following the other's lead as they slowly headed out of the cramped hospital room. As they walked through the corridors, Yang couldn't help observing every little detail of the building with curiosity. She didn't know what anything looked like, save for the room she had spent her time in, and it all fascinated her to no end.

After supplying the patient with so much information and images that it gave her a headache, the duo reached the female bathroom. Thankfully enough, it was completely void of any other patients or visitors, so it was completely silent as they stood outside the door.

"Are you... sure you'll be okay?" The faunas questioned, hiding the majority of her concern under a stern, iron mask. Her eyes were focused straight on the other girl who returned the vague look, almost as if she didn't understand the words she said.

"I'm sure." she quickly responded, certainty present in her voice. She trailed off for a moment, looking around the narrow corridor and tiled floor before meeting the other's yellow eyes once more. The innocent look she gave made it difficult for the other to anticipate what she was going to say- and when the words finally came, she definitely realised she was not ready for them. "...you're not coming into the room with me, right?"

"E-Eh? Of course not. That'd be extremely rude of me, did you even need to ask?" Ignoring the pink tint of her cheeks at the thought, Blake was quick to reply- almost too quick at that, as her eyes fell to the floor. She just hoped the other wouldn't notice the sudden colour on her face, since without it, she seemed perfectly calm and collected.

"Just making sure. You are still holding my hand, and all." the blonde informed, thankfully allowing the other's sudden expression to go unnoticed. Blake's hand didn't hesitate to gradually slip from her grasp though, as she handed the pile of clothing towards the injured other.

"Sorry.. I'll be waiting here for when you're done." she continued, having gathered herself to the best of her ability. She wasn't sure why she was showing such a weakness to the other, especially when she needed to stay strong for her, but she could ponder on that later.

Yang made sure to flex her fingers and limbs before grabbing a hold of the clothes, giving a nod of understanding. "Alright. I'll try not to take too long..." were her final words before turning on her heels, taking a slow stride off into the bathroom. Her limping had decreased ever since leaving her hospital room, and so as she watched the other comfortably manuever off, Blake knew she didn't need to worry.

And yet, even so, she found herself doing exactly that. Leaning up against the wall of the corridor with her arms crossed in front of her chest, she let out a long sigh, closing her eyes. "Everything... everything will be fine soon, Blake. Everything will be fine..." But even then, she couldn't quite convince herself of her own words.

Meanwhile, inside the change room, another act of convincing was going down. It was no where near as serious as the one outside, but it still felt just as important. _'Okay...' _Yang began, staring at the pile of clothing sitting beside her on the shelf. _'I can do this. It's just a bunch of clothes, I'm not _that _incompetent...'_

Surely enough, the girl seemed to strip down and change her clothes with ease- at least, it was easier than she had first anticipated. She couldn't help the sudden aching that came from her wounds, having to pause as they did so, but besides that there were no problems. She couldn't help stopping half way through her changing to eye her own barely clothed body before her, either. It wasn't for any other reason but to familiarise herself with her own figure, though it was quite awkward; especially with how she ended up admitting she was proud of what she saw.

By the time the blonde emerged again, her partner was completely immersed in her thoughts, staring off in silence. Yang blinked as she held the messily-folded hospital gown between her bandages wrists, approaching the other with slow, cautious footsteps. She had that look again: that same look that her team always tried so desperately to hide, but never could. That same look of misery, of their broken hearts, of pain.

Her ears twitched upon her head. "Huh? Yang?" Blake immediately snapped, eyes wide as she turned her head towards the footsteps she heard. The other girl stopped in her tracks, eyebrows falling closer to her eyes as she gave a hesitant smile.

_'Please don't look at me like that...' _"Yeah... I'm.. back." she greeted, holding back a nervous laugh. At the sight, the dark-haired girl eased, pushing herself off the wall to stand upright.

"I can see that much." she dismissed with a shake of her head. "Are you ready to leave, then...?" It was almost as if Blake was expecting a different response from the girl, as her body seemed to wait patiently for the response that came. She couldn't help hanging onto every word she spoke, using all the will she had to lift her spirits back up. She was the one who persuaded the others not to give up hope, so there was no reason why she should go back on those words herself.

"Um... I think. As ready as I'm going to get, at least." For some reason, the words really hurt herself to say. That look was something she never wanted to see again, so she wanted to be assuring; to make sure they wouldn't have to make it ever again. However, it wasn't in her power. She couldn't do it. She couldn't smile, or be firm, or even raise her voice, no matter what she tried. _'At this rate, finding my old self really will be impossible...'_

"Alright. Let's get back to the others, then." Blake's voice was strangely firm and unwavering, though that was exactly what caused the other to be suspicious of it. _'Is she putting on an act for me, or something...?' _she wondered. _'It isn't that hard to tell, now that I think about it... I bet you they're all... all of them are hiding their pain for me. Maybe that's why they give me that look so often... what am I thinking? Of course they're still in pain. The past isn't lost that quickly... well, unless you're me.'_

Her thoughts almost drowned out the others words, and so she found her reply hesitant and slow. "Yeah, alright..." Without another word, Yang dragged her feet across the ground and stood by her partners side, keeping as little distance from her as possible as they walked back down the hallways they had came from. She saw no need to hold onto the other's hand, and simply didn't.

Blake didn't even dare to admit how she was regrettably disappointed by this.

Soon enough, after minutes of waiting in the lobby for Ruby and Weiss to return, the team was back together again, all seemingly ready for the adventure that was ahead of them. "Well, sis, are you ready to return to Beacon?"

"...as ready as I'm going to get." It wasn't long before this became the blonde's terrible catch phrase.

* * *

**A/N: I'm back with another chappy! Are you happy? (that rhymed, hehe) I am. qvq**

**I'm sorry, I'm just really touched at all the comments and reviews I've been receiving. It really makes me feel like the happiest author in the world, you know? :'D**

**Don't be hesitant to leave your thoughts down below as well~**

**I'll see you in the next one!**


	4. Chapter 4: August 1st Part II

**Chapter 4: This Is Beacon Academy**

It seemed that no matter how many times she ended up saying it during the journey there and before she even left the hospital, Yang was not ready to see the huge buildings and architecture of Beacon Academy.

When she approached the building's gates for the very first time- or at least, it was more like she was returning to them- every cell in her body wanted to stop and stare in awe at the sight. Nothing was stopping her, and thus, she took her time to take in every detail that the landscape of the school had to offer with delight. With the refreshing breeze and the bright sun above, the beautiful structure and the scenery surrounding Beacon made it one of the most fascinating things she could ever had imagined.

"Woah..." she muttered, blinking as she twisted her waist around to get a view of it all. She looked just like a new puppy being welcomed to a new home, looking in every direction with the same, wide eyes. Although Ruby let out a few laughs at her sister's behaviour, that didn't stop the train of reality's thoughts smashing through her head once more. She couldn't do anything to stop it, even after six days.

_'She doesn't even recognise the school. How's she supposed to fit in when she looks like that? When she acts like that? When she doesn't even act like Yang any more...?'_

"Hey, what are you laughing for...? It's not my fault- ah, well, at least, I don't _think _it's my fault that I don't remember something as amazing as this..." Her sister's dull voice snapped her out of her thoughts, and she too looked like a confused pet, blinking her silver eyes in surprise.

"Huh? Oh, I know. It's just... still funny to see, that's all!" she reasoned with another laugh. Truth be told though, she was only continuing to put on an act in front of the other girls. She was meant to be strong; their leader. There wasn't any time for frowning or mourning when they were this close to starting over again, and while Yang was right there.

"...does that mean that me having a hard time believing I attend such a school is also funny to you?" she innocently questioned with a tilt of her head. The few seconds of silence that passed between the group was enough to cause it to grow awkward.

"Uh... yeah, I guess." the red head responded with a smile, running a hand through her dyed hair. The response seemed almost unnatural, although the blonde didn't voice it. Something about it seemed very forced.

_'How do you "guess" something is funny, anyway...? It's either funny or it isn't, I don't get it...' _Dismissing the comment as yet another concept she couldn't quite grasp as of yet, another silence fell upon the group. As Yang seemed to be finished with her sight-seeing, Weiss saw this as an opportunity to step in. They couldn't just sit around and waste time, anyway. Team RWBY had a headmaster to visit, and if they were late, he wouldn't be very impressed.

Clearing her throat, the girl tried to wipe her thoughts and mind as clean as her blonde teammate, folding her arms. "Well, if you're done with your tourist, sight-seeing behaviour, we should continue on. You've got a whole school to stand in awe at." she reminded. Without another moment of protest, the team was moving once again, walking through the large doors of the school once more.

Ruby didn't care how awkward it made her or the others around her feel. As soon as they stepped in, and the bustling halls of the school were revealed, she turned to her sister with a smile. "Welcome... to Beacon, Yang."

Due to the other's comment, the blonde tried to keep her staring and fascinated looks to a minimal, but to no avail. Her curiosity only heightened at each sight she spotted, whether it be part of the scattered groups of people, the interior layout, or the size of the school in general. With the more she learnt, the more she came to be proud of her efforts. She could only imagine the amount of work one would have to go through to get into a school like this.

The four females continued making their way through the halls, as Ruby pointed out every important room they passed, like a tour guide. To say the least, for the red-headed girl, it was strange to be guiding around her own teammate like a new student, but it was her duty as a leader- as Yang's sister. "Down that way's the cafeteria, by the way. More of the other classes are over there, but since it's still pretty early, they'll be empty." she continued, as they pushed on.

By the time they reached the head master's office, all of the girls minus Yang had grown stiff. They feared what was to come behind those doors, and yet none of them spoke a word of it to each other. The silence was the other comforting element in the whole atmosphere. At times like this, it only reminded them of the role Yang used to fill- how she used to be the one to bring them all up with a smile and assure them otherwise- but that was a role no one had the courage to fill any more.

"...any day now..." Weiss muttered to herself, glancing down at the floor beneath her feet in anticipation. Luckily enough, the girl went unheard, although the silence was broken soon afterwards.

"So... that headmaster, Huntsman guy you've been talking about is behind these doors?" The amnesiac questioned, making sure she had her facts straight. Not only would it be awkward for her teammates, but it would be embarrassing for herself if she screwed this meeting up. Clasping tightly onto the diary she hadn't opened for an hour, she rocked on her heels.

"That's right. His name's Professor Ozpin, but I'm sure he's going to tell you that soon, anyway." Her sister filled in with a nod, turning to the twin doors. Only then did she notice the doorbell beside them, and her courage began to well up. If she couldn't walk through open doors, surely pushing on a button would be much easier. She looked up with another smile, hoping to be assuring her sister enough to make things comfortable. "He's eager to talk to you... but no need to worry. He's nice." And just like that, she pressed the button on the intercom.

"Ruby? You can come in." was what the low, masculine voice called from inside the room. It's unusually formal and sophisticated tone strike Yang as unexpected, and she couldn't help feeling nervous as the shining doors before them slid open.

Noticing this in her sister's dim expression, Ruby made sure to make eye contact with the blonde girl, giving her a smile and an assuring nod. _'It's going to be okay.' _she thought, hoping the words would reach the other somehow as she finally turned around. Along with her teammates beside her, she walked through the doors, allowing them to slide shut behind her as they approached the male's desk. _'...at least, I sure hope it will be.'_

"Professor Ozpin, sir?" the girl started up again, smile falling to a soft frown on her innocent face. "We're... we're back." Ruby cursed under her breath. The gaze she was receiving made her feel so pressured, and despite the amount of things running through her mind, she wasn't able to say more than a few words. She wasn't even able to look up at the headmaster before her- and to say the least, she was very disappointed in herself.

"So I've noticed." Ozpin quickly replied, taking a slow, gradual sip of the warm coffee in his grasp. This sight was one of the first things Yang noticed about the professor. Besides his grey hair and his strangely shaped glasses, that coffee seemed out of place in such a high-society atmosphere. Upon closer inspection, it even had the school's emblem on it. _'Just how rich is this place...?' _she wondered, looking up at the male with her now normal, dull gaze.

It didn't take long for the look to be returned either, as the professor soon ran his eyes over every figure in the room. They seemed to linger on the figure of the blonde girl however; something that made her feel more uncomfortable than she already did. Breathing was becoming a difficulty by the time he spoke up again. "I appreciate the work and effort you've spent dealing with this matter, Ruby, Weiss, Blake. All of you." His tone was noted to be slow and steady, something that made understanding his formal position easy.

"Thank you, sir. We've tried out best to meet your standards..." Blake picked up, standing firm and seeming much more confident than her red-headed leader. The other was internally thankful, but didn't show a physical sign of this, keeping her eyes glued on the superior before her.

"And meet my standards you have. I'm proud of you all. But... for now... we have a different matter to discuss." And at that point, Ozpin's gaze finally lowered to the single, injured girl in the room, eyes looking almost intimidating to the other. "Yang Xiao Long... would you mind if I had a word with you?"

The mentioned girl took in a sharp breath of air before shaking her head, hands clasped behind her back in a respectful stance. Of all things, it was different to see Yang in such a position, but of course, it was going to take getting used to. "Not at all, sir..." was her response as she took steps closer to the seated male, allowing the others to stand behind her.

She couldn't control herself, and her eyes darted in every direction as she waited for the other's slow-paced response. It was more difficult than she had first anticipated to keep eye contact with the superior male, so she wasn't about to push herself. "Now, before we get onto anything else, I must first... re-introduce myself. I am Professor Ozpin, this school's headmaster, as well as a sworn Huntsman. I'll be monitoring your progress here, and I welcome you to my school." he explained, placing his cup onto the desk in front of him. The blonde nodded her head in understanding, before he continued on.

"Now Yang, I'm sure by now, we are all aware of your current condition, and I assure you now- there's no reason to worry about anything. To ensure you of a smooth, comfortable return to this school, I've informed all the necessary staff of this incident. I'm doing everything in my power to make sure you have a fresh return here... or for you, a fresh start." Yang gave a few words of understanding, keeping herself from saying too much. It seemed Ozpin had a lot to say to make up for it.

"However, as you may or may not know, I am proud to be running such a prestigious academy, and only qualified students may attend it. For this reason, I'm putting you on a six month trial." These words seemed to pique the girl's interest, as she tiled her head.

"Six month... trial...?" she repeated.

"Indeed. To make this comfortable for you, your time will begin to countdown once you attend classes once more, so take as long a break as you require. After your first day begins, I will allow you six months to get a hold of your studies and work on your physical abilities. By the end of that time, you will be required to go through a sort of entrance exam, where your skills will be tested once more. If you pass, you will be granted your rightful place here at Beacon. If not... then, I'm afraid you'll have to be moved to another academy until you can. Is that alright with you...?"

The other girl paused for a moment, pondering the words with all the logic she had left. She knew it wasn't supposed to be an easy road up ahead, but regaining everything she had lost in just six months seemed to be impossible. Still, as she glanced at her stern team beside her, she realised she didn't have a choice. After all, she didn't want to disappoint them. She didn't want them to give her that miserable look ever again.

"Yes." she firmly replied, giving a curt nod of her head. "I'll do my best here, while I can..." Though she had begun to trail off and lose her confident tone, it was still one of the strongest statements she had made ever since waking up from the hospital- something that shocked her team just as much as the risk at hand did. By the end of these months, they could lose Yang's presence at Beacon, but that thought wasn't at the front of their minds.

Ozpin's gaze softened as his body seemed to relax in his seat, leaning back. "Alright." he responded. "Hopefully, you can understand that with however this turns out, it's for the best of the school and your well-being."

"I... I understand that, sir."

"That's good to hear." The male took a sip of his cooling coffee, easing out the atmosphere into something all of the girls could grow comfortable in. "Well, then. That just about concludes all that I have to inform you, regarding that..." His eyes lifted from the blonde as he met the gaze of the other girls in the room. "Now. To save you from the stress, and to allow you all to settle back in again, I will grant you three days of freedom, without class. You can do as you please during this time, so I suggest trying not to make a mess of things."

The relief and hope shining in the other girls' eyes- Ruby, especially- was unlike Yang had ever seen. The only emotion she really caught in their expressions were fabricated happiness and despair, so to see them finally beginning to ease out was more than a relief. She even found a faint smile on her features; something she didn't happen to do naturally very often any more.

"Really? You mean it?" Ruby spoke up, balling her hands into hopeful fists in front of her chest. The professor furrowed his eyebrows at the immature reaction, shaking his head with a small smile.

"Yes, I do. That time's all your's to spend, just stay away from the classrooms when a lesson is in session." The male continued to explain.

"Got it, professor. We'll keep that in mind." The other replied with a genuine smile, feeling the relief sweep over her body. At least, as much relief as her stressed out body was going to take. She knew she wasn't about to revert back to her carefree nature any time soon, but it was as close as she was going to get.

"Good. But just remember..." he warned, gaze suddenly turning stern and serious once more. "As soon as you step foot into a lesson, Yang... that's when your time will begin, so take care. You're dismissed."

And with a few respectful nods and dismissals, the group turned from the desk, heading back out the way they came. "Take care, professor!" the leader called out with a wave of her hand, taking deep breaths as they exited the office.

As soon as they returned to the open hallways of Beacon Academy, they all released their tension in a few moments of silence. "Well... that was... interesting." Weiss' vague words were what broke the silence of the team, and all of their attention was caught at once.

"Says the person who didn't say a word that entire time." Blake pointed out with a sigh and a disappointed shake of her head. It seemed to tread on the other's nerves, and a scowl was quick to take over her face.

"What's _that _supposed to mean? I simply didn't need to. Everything was under control anyway." she reasoned. The sisters were left to hopelessly watch the scene before them, but luckily, it wasn't much longer before their pointless bickering did cease. "Moving on, though... I believe we have a dorm to get back to, don't you?" the white-haired girl continued.

Ruby's eyes lit up, almost as if she had forgotten all about it, as she nodded. "You're right. We should head there now. We can leave the adventuring until later on, or... tomorrow, if you want to take up that much time." the leader responded, talking to no one in particular as she voiced her thoughts. Her gaze ended up wavering over to her sister, who looked just about as lively as a corpse on two legs. It almost crushed her hopes completely.

"I doubt we'll take that long, but we'll have to wait and see. We do have a lot of time on our hands." Blake tuned in, stopping the red head from dwindling into pessimistic thoughts. They had such a smooth, eventful day, too. It would have been downright disappointing for her to head down that track, and although she was probably one of the most torn of the group, the faunas found it necessary to keep the others in check.

"Hm... you're right." Ruby continued, cupping a hand to her chin. "We'll figure it out when we get there. In the meantime, we're going to show you our team's dorm room, okay, sis?" she questioned, turning to the mentioned other with a faint smile.

Yang's reaction was quite slow, as she wasn't used to being called such a nickname. Blinking slowly, she turned to the other girl with surprise written all over her face, before she nodded her head obediently. "Huh? Oh, right, okay..."

The response only worried the younger sibling, but like every other emotion she felt, she tucked it away under a smile. "Let's go, then...!"

. . .

Yang didn't even know what to think of the mess of a place they called their 'dorm room'.

Only one thing was clear about its interior- it was definitely different from the neat, organised layout of the rest of the school. Unlike the rest of Beacon which seemed to be a completely clean, high-society and prestigious area, the girls' bedroom gave off a different feel. With boy-band posters conflicting with the otherwise suitable decorations of water-paint artworks and bookshelves, the room had no sense of design.

Yang didn't even know where to get started on the beds. She stood there at the entrance, staring at the 'bunk beds' in awe and confusion for an uncomfortably long time. The sight just seemed to captivate her; but not in the good way the rest of the school had. Not only did the beds _look _trashy and messy, but it looked incredibly dangerous. _'Can they really support other person and balance properly when they're held up like _that?' she wondered, face showing all kinds of confliction. _'Like, woah. That's... that's really extreme...'_

It seemed this show of awe didn't go unnoticed, either. In fact, all of the other girls found themselves in quite the awkward position because of it. Going through first-time reactions really was a pain, they soon found. "Before I ask you anything else, you can go ahead and fire any questions about the beds, Yang." Ruby allowed, looking to the floor with a nervous laugh. The blonde gave her a small glance before her dulled eyes reached the beds once more, furrowing in worry.

"Uh, okay." she accepted, pondering before actually going ahead with her questions. "...for a start, isn't that a bit- no, very dangerous? Can setting beds up like that even steadily hold people for sleeping...? Never mind that, but who usually sleeps on those top bunks, anyway...?" The red head sighed. She knew they were coming, and yet she still hadn't prepared herself for the questions. Reality was much harder to take than imaginative assumptions- and this was something the girl had learnt the hard way.

"Ah... well, you see..." she began, trying to remember the team's first day at Beacon. It was over a year ago, so the memory was blurry, but it still sufficed. If she spent any more time pondering on those days, she would surely end up breaking down right then and there, and so she tried her best to avoid it. "We arranged the beds like that ourselves, if you hadn't caught onto that much... but! They have been in full use for... a while now... so they're safe. And, ah, just so you know... you and I used to sleep up there." she continued, pointing at each of the sibling's respective beds.

Yang definitely was not expecting such a response, and she felt her heart sink in her chest. No matter how many times Ruby would repeat it to her, she didn't seem to trust those top bunks at all. It was something that first-hand experience could only fix really, but of course, the blonde was anything but willing to try it out. She didn't want to get another injury within the first day of being deployed from the hospital, of all things.

"Are you... serious...?" she repeated, swallowing as she stared. The thought of being up there all night really did spark more than a few nerves within her unsteady body. She would have down-right denied the possibility of ever sleeping up there, too uncomfortable just thinking about it, but the thought of that expression stopped her. No matter how hard she felt against it, in order to make the others feel comfortable and rid their pain was to return to 'normal' as soon as possible.

She bit her tongue. "Oh well..." Yang sighed. "Guess I'll have to get used to it sometime soon, anyway..." she brushed off, looking around the room once more. Because of this, she missed the concerned frown her little sister gave her from behind. This didn't mean her other teammates didn't, however- their worry was directed at the pair of sisters, almost in even amounts by now.

"Say, besides the failure of our organisation concerning the beds... what do you think of the room as a whole, Yang...?" Weiss questioned. She wasn't about to leave her partner in the dark when there were so many things they needed to catch up on already. Catching the blonde's attention, she turned to meet the gaze of the strict girl, wearing a neutral frown.

"It's nice." she commented with full honesty, seeing no need to lie about something so harmless. "I think I'll come to like it with the more I spend time here."

"Good. You're stuck with us here, anyway." was her cold remark, looking away as she put on a playful act. She was expecting some sort of upbeat bickering in response from the blonde, but it seemed even Weiss had expected too much from the injured girl herself.

"I guess so..." was her bland response. Seeing as her attitude was now out of place, the heiress' gaze dulled as her frown intensified. That wasn't part of her act for once, as she genuinely felt she was missing something important. With a deep breath, she looked around the room once more, before allowing her eyes to land on the blonde once more.

"Now, I hate to disappoint you, but there isn't much else for us to show you about our room."

. . .

* * *

**Day 6: 1st of August**

Well, I'm here at Beacon now. Sitting up in the most terrifying bed ever, to be exact. Besides the fact that these bunkbeds creep me out more than anything else has, this school looks pretty neat. And by that, I mean _very _neat. Buildings, students everywhere... nice scenery... this place looks fancy and rich, too; things I never expected this place would be. I knew it was going to be a good school, but I never thought it'd be _this _good...

And yet, its only my first day. I haven't been everywhere in the school yet, that's what the next few days are for, but I'm still so fascinated by it all. I think I'm actually getting kinda excited for all this adventuring. I have no intention of returning to class any time soon, despite how much I know the others would appreciate it. I don't think I'm going to settle back in any time soon, so I don't want to push it. That sounds so selfish... oh well...

I'll write back later. I still have a lot to learn in six months.

* * *

Hooking her pen back in the book's spine, the blonde gave a nod to her partner who stood near the entrance doorway. Giving a nod back, the faunas flicked the light switch off, allowing the moonlight seeping through the curtains to be the only thing illuminating the room. As the girl below her hurried off into bed, Yang tucked her diary underneath her pillow, pulling her covers up to her chin.

"Good night, guys." Ruby's childish voice called through the darkness. Though she stuttered at first, the blonde sister managed to give a reply of her own along with the other two girls in the room. With that, the room fell into a harsh silence that would only be broken by the sounds of morning and daylight.

But that didn't mean all life and motion had to cease also.

Rolling onto the newly wrapped bandages of her arms, the amnesiac found the bed surprisingly comfy. Because of this and all the exhaustion from the long day, sleep was actually quite easy to achieve. For once, she could silence the thoughts in her head and get the rest she needed- which was quite rare, considering how many questions and worries were always filling her body.

It seemed that the other three girls experienced otherwise.

She wasn't sure how much time had passed, but from the calm breathing that came from the other, Ruby was sure her sister had fallen asleep when things started to get rough. She wasn't able to shuffle constantly, being constricted by her messy bunk bed, but she did it as much as the furniture would allow. Shivering and shaking in her bed, the girl stayed awake as the night continued to pass on by, mind wandering on thoughts of one person.

_'She's right there, across the room from me...' _she began, eyes wide and frantic. _'But at the same time, she's gone... gone forever and lost, and there's nothing I can do about it. Not now, not ever. No one can do anything about it...' _Seeing the reactions of her puzzled sister and her warped personality had set off a black hole of thoughts in her head, as her optimism and strength was washed away by their words.

_'What kind of sister am I if I can't even help her out when she needs me most? Is she even still my sister any more? It shouldn't count if she doesn't remember ever experiencing anything with or living with me... I'm just a stranger to her now, just like everyone else. What's the use? What's the use in this 'hope', this 'tomorrow', this 'new start'? She's not the Yang we all know any more, so what's the point...? We can't go back to those days ever again, and that's that. That's life. That's the reality... and... and I...'_

"...I _hate_ it...!" was what slipped from her mouth, luckily in a whisper that went unheard by the others.

_'I can't do this... I can't... She's always been there for me, and I can't ever move on from something like this... I've lost something too important, I just...' _As her partner continued to think through the night, Weiss stayed oblivious to this, immersed in her own world of thoughts.

That is, until she heard the all too familiar sound of sniffling.

Her eyebrows flinched in confusion at the first sound of it reaching her. _'What... what was that...?' _She paused, unmoving in her bed as she waited once more. _'I've gotta be sure... maybe it was something outside?' _But surely enough, the muffled sniffling continued, and there wasn't anything to doubt. The location of the sound was almost as crystal clear as what it was, too.

"Ruby..." She knew she could be described as cold, but she wasn't going to do nothing when her own partner was suffering. Though she felt hope was useless at that point as well, and she wished for someone to sit down and tell her otherwise, the heiress was full aware that that was never going to come. Ruby was definitely taking this worse than she was, and this was no time to act like otherwise.

Without another moment, she cleared out her thoughts. Took a deep breath. And quietly swung her legs over the side of her bed. From there, she stood as silently as she could, making sure not to disturb the other pair of Huntresses. Placing her feet on the mattress of her bed, she slowly pulled herself up to peer at her partner's bed, holding onto it for support. "Hey, Ruby...? You're... awake... aren't you...?" she whispered.

The voice caught her off guard, and within seconds she was squirming underneath her blanket to dry her eyes. Eyes wide through the dark, she held back on the sobs that were threatening to spill, and pulled her head above the covers. "...Weiss...? I-I'm sorry, did I wake you?" Though her vision was cloudy, she could make out the other's figure in the room, peering up beside her bed.

"No, I happened to be awake already..." she responded, eyes half lidded as she assumed the spot of Ruby's eyes. "...do you have a moment?"

"...I've got all night, however long that might last..." And hearing those words, Weiss wasted no more time, climbing up to her partner's bed. She sat cross legged beside the other girl, who sat up and shuffled over to make room for her, though she kept her gaze low. Ruby was just glad the room was dark, otherwise she would have trouble hiding her red, puffy eyes.

The two sat in complete silence, staying motionless for an extended amount of time. They had no way of telling time anyway, seeing as the lighting of the room didn't change either. Finally, as the tension began to grow, the leader ended up clearing her throat. She was cautious enough to make sure it was only quiet. "...so... what did you want to talk abo-"

"It's going to be okay."

To say the interruption shocked her wouldn't quite be enough. By this point, Ruby was extremely grateful for the low light. With her eyes wide, heart pounding, and tears about to spill, she was scared of what her partner would say if she ever saw it. "W...What..." She was at a total loss for words, confused and struck by the sudden words. "What do you mean...? W-Where did that even come from, Weiss...?"

"Does it matter... where it came from?" The other responded, making sure their tones stayed at nothing louder than a whisper. "I know... I know that you're stressed out. You feel broken. You're missing a lot of things right now... but it's what you needed to hear."

_'What... is going on...?' _Ruby thought, truly confused and thrown off by the sudden change in pace. Even her breathing had taken a sharp turn, turning from calming intakes to quickened and short breaths. She didn't even notice this herself however, too drawn to what the other had to say to care. Her inner pessimism and pain wanted to scream and shout in protest to Weiss' words, wanting to burst from the bottle the girl kept them in. She didn't want to hear such nonsense, especially at such a time.

"What I needed to hear...?" she repeated. She could feel the doubts beginning to bubble over within her. The white-haired girl nodded, eyes almost as blank as her sister's as she continued. Since she didn't need to worry about her appearance and expression, it gave Weiss one less thing to worry about as she focused on her words. She needed to drown out her own doubts in the process, and maybe listen to her own advice.

"Your sister is still alive to this day Ruby. She hasn't betrayed any of us, including you; hasn't turned her back on us despite all the mess she's gone through. If that day ever comes where she has a change in heart, then we can spend time mourning and longing for what we lost... but not right now." And with the more her partner continued, the more the unusual circumstances kicked in.

Ruby could barely hold her tone down as she snapped. "What if that day is closer than you think? Huh? That day could be tomorrow for we all know. She could be on edge every moment of the day, just waiting for the moment to break and give in, and we wouldn't know it..." Within seconds, that flaming protest she felt was reduced to something more containable though- pure sadness. Sadness that spilled as her tears did. "...we don't know what's going to happen, Weiss... we don't even know if she'll ever get those precious memories back... if we'll ever get 'Yang' back... you've seen the reality with your own eyes. I don't get how we're supposed to smile and act like we don't care when one of our _teammates _has _changed _like this."

She didn't want to show it, but the retort hurt her. It was as if all the hope she managed to build up for the sole purpose of convincing Ruby had been lost and was beginning to crumble right before her. Confliction and pain showing all over her scarred face as she pondered in the silence, Weiss thought and thought until her mind seemed too scrambled to continue.

"Ruby..." she muttered, voice pleading and sympathetic. It only lasted a moment though, as her strict tone was quick to return. "What else are we supposed to do, then? We've got no other choice. The past is in the past, and I don't care how long it takes- but you'll have to learn to accept that eventually."

"How am I supposed to accept the fact that _my own sister will never return to me...?" _But since the words sent her mind into a frenzy again, Weiss resorted to her last option.

_Smack._

Just like that, Ruby was left stunned, left cheek stinging from the hand that connected with it. It seemed the pain only added to the emotional amount she already felt, although for some reason, it seemed to snap her logic awake.

"Snap out of it, will you...?" she continued, frown present on her face. "You're Yang's little sister. Someone she should be able to depend on. Someone who should be there for her whether she needs you or not. You're no use to her if you're going to sit around crying, while she's moved on herself."

_'That's the thing. She's only moved on because she's forgotten.' _But the girl bit her tongue. She refrained herself from interrupting. She listened.

"But besides that, you're also our team leader; a title in which you should be proud of. We're going to be here to support you, but if you're not going to wear a smile for us eventually, then we can't wear one either." And following those words, silence.

A long silence.

A thick silence that made even breathing sound too loud.

An unwavering silence that lasted even after Ruby collapsed onto her partner's figure, wrapping her arms around her in a tight, grateful hug.

"...thank you so much..." she mumbled through the night.

"...we're going to restart everything and rebuild Yang together, okay?"

"...okay."

And without a word, across the room from them, the dark-haired faunas stopped tossing and turning in her bed. _'Rebuild Yang together, huh...?' _she repeated. _'...doesn't sound like that bad an idea.'_

* * *

**A/N: I worked up an extra long chapter for you guys. That's how dedicated I am right now. OwO**

**Anyway, I really love hearing your feedback, so please don't hesitate to leave behind a review~! ^.^**

**I'm excited for the chapters to come and the events I have planned, so stay tuned for the next one!**


	5. Chapter 5: August 2nd Part I

**Chapter 5: A Day In The Dorms**

* * *

**Day 7: 2nd of August**

Huh. I'm kinda surprised I wasn't the last one to wake up today, but anyway. The first thing I'll do every morning is write in here. Does that work? There's no point in asking a book though, I suppose. Now, onto proper thoughts...

Um... I'm kinda excited and looking forward to what else this school has to offer. The school grounds seem to have so much in store, and I only had a brief look around yesterday. I just hope that while I look around, I don't get too many weird looks... if what the professor said was correct, then a lot of people should know about my condition. I don't want to be labelled as, "that one girl who doesn't remember anything", but I suppose it can't be helped sometimes.

I wonder if I'll get to meet that other team today. Team JNPR, I recall. They seemed interesting. I'll have to do my best to smile for them, too...

* * *

Seeing as Yang wouldn't have time to pull it out and write in it during the day, the blonde decided to keep her trusty book underneath her pillow at all times. Putting it in it's rightful place until she needed it, she stretched her arms above her head. With a yawn, the action helped properly wake herself up, and she was soon blinking and looking around the room.

"Good morning, sis." It seemed the dull, breathy voice that called from across the room belonged to the girl's younger sister. When the blonde looked her way, she found the other sitting up right, slumped over from fatigue as she waved. The older gave a small wave of her own, as she gave a neutral, curious look.

"Good morning." she greeted, trying to seem as upbeat as her empty body would allow. Even after a week of adjusting to life, she didn't seem to be able to act any different. Emotions didn't come as easily as they used to- at least, emotions besides confusion and regret, it seemed. It was almost as if she had lost the means to pick up any other emotions within her body, but this was something she was rarely concerned about.

Seeming content with the response she received, the red-head gave a lopsided smile, before yawning. Even though she had done so herself moments before, watching the other yawn caused her body to repeat the action. Neither of the two seemed to notice or pay it much mind.

"...someone's up earlier than usual." Another voice from below chimed in, in a more powerful, awake tone. Though Yang still couldn't quite pinpoint it at the first sound, it belonged to none other than Weiss, who was already standing beside her bed. "Good morning to the both of you. Ruby, it's almost amazing how you've woken up without a pestering or any moaning."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean...?" One could clearly tell the difference in which the two girls had been awake for, by comparing their sentences' paces and firm voice pitches.

"You know full well of what it means." the other brushed off, looking away from her partner. "On the other hand though... I never expected Blake, of all people, would be the one sleeping in the latest today. What a bother."

Just as the Schnee heiress pointed it out, Yang had the urge to check on her partner. The idea crossed her mind that it would be easy to see the other if she poked her head over the edge of the bed, and she was quick to shuffle over to the corner to try it. However, as soon as she started shifting her weight over the end of the bed, her eyes fell to the floor and a surge of fear ran through her. She was still unsteady, and could barely compose herself enough to regain her balance on the bed before panicking.

_'Well. Nope. Never going to do that again. It seriously is scary up here... why would my sister come up with such a devilish idea...? This is ridiculous...' _And with a sigh, she gave in, looking around to find the way to get down as the conversation around her continued.

"We don't have class today though, so it doesn't matter..." Ruby responded, seeing no signs of consciousness from the faunas. "She can sleep in until one 'o' clock in the afternoon, for all we care."

"Only _you _would do something as unnatural as that."

"Hey...! It's not unnatural. She could be that tired, you never know..." No matter how much the girl tried to reason herself though, Weiss' amount of faith in her partner didn't change in the slightest.

"I'm still disappointed in you."

"But... you even praised me for getting up early today... how can you be disappointed?"

"...I just am, okay? You haven't impressed me yet, since you're still technically in bed." With a tired sigh, the girl began to comply to her partner's insults and indirect orders, sliding off her top bunk. Yang watched on with an interested, neutral gaze. The idea of checking on Blake was postponed and forgotten, as she was too busy trying to survey the behaviour of her teammates. It was an instinct by now really, the girl hadn't realised what she was doing herself yet, but it was still helping her out.

"How about now, Weiss?" Ruby asked with a smile, dusting herself off as she recovered from the daily fall from her bunk.

"...hmm... nope. You've lost my interest by now. I shouldn't have to tell you when to get out of bed, anyway." The response seemed to hurt the other's pride, and she began sulking.

"_Whaaat? _Oh... fine..." she gave in, with a disappointed frown. At that point, the conversation seemed to dull out, and so the blonde stopped paying attention. Instead, she was busy scanning the area around her bed, hiding her internal insecurities as she searched for any _safe _way to get down. Eventually though, it seemed one pair of inexperienced eyes wasn't good enough.

"Um, Weiss? Ruby...?" she weakly called out, interrupting whatever conversation they were having. They both stopped and glanced up at the speaking girl, blinking as they waited.

"Yes...?" the white-haired girl urged.

"Well, um, I just wanted to ask something important." she continued. The pair only stared with interest written all over their faces, with a hint of worry. Seeing no need to pause any longer, the blonde took a breath. "How do I... how do I get down from here?"

If it weren't for the fact that her sister had suffered from a serious injury, Ruby might have even laughed at the words.

"Oh, right, about that...!" she spoke, adding a nervous laugh that gave away the mood she felt beneath her innocent grin. "Um... since Blake is still using her bed, it might be kinda hard to get down... unless you actually want to jump, like I did, of course." she explained.

"Don't trust her though, jumping is a really bad idea." Weiss cut in, earning an unimpressed glare from her younger partner.

"Hey, it's not that bad if you do it right."

"_If you do it right." _she emphasised, placing her hands on her hips. The other looked to the ground in defeat, unable to say anything else, as her sister beat her to it.

"Um... somehow I don't think I have the courage to jump off of this thing. I could barely get to sleep up here..." For some reason, the lie seemed to naturally roll from her thoughts and into the open room. She had zero trouble sleeping last night, even despite the height and instability of the bed she was resting on.

"Hmm... true..." Ruby pondered, frowning. "...you might have to wait a few minutes until Blake gets up, then. You'll be able to sort of... climb down the side railing and rest your feet on her mattress." Though her explanation was quite vague, the blonde nodded her head.

"Okay. I think I can do that..." she responded, referring to both the waiting she had to sit through and the method of getting down. "...she doesn't usually sleep in, right?"

Weiss shook her head. "Nope. Usually, she's one of the first ones up, actually. You and your sister liked to sleep in a lot, it was almost unhealthy." she explained. Her partner wasn't going to bother arguing, dropping the comment with a sigh.

"Oh, alright... what time is it, anyway?" the blonde questioned, unable to locate the clock in the room. She had only spent an hour or so awake in the room, so she was still familiarizing herself with her surroundings, even if it was a small room.

"It's a little past 7 'o' clock. Amazing, really." she continued. The other happened to associate the time with when the rest of her team used to visit her hospital room, and immediately came to a quick realisation. _'They visited me as soon as they woke up, huh...? This early in the morning...?' _The thought caused a small, grateful smile to rise to her face. _'...what a dedicated team I have.'_

"Okay then..." she brushed off, causing the conversation to come a close. Neither of them had anything to add, and so nothing else was said, leaving the usually lively room of Team RWBY to go through another silence.

That is, before Ruby came to a realisation of her own. Scrambling over to one of the suitcases tucked away in the corner of the room, she searched through the contents of one, before calling back out through the silent room. "Hey, Yang? You might want these. Catch!" And with that small warning, the red head threw a handheld mirror and a brush up to Yang's bed. Luckily enough, they didn't fly straight into the blonde's face, and they bounced onto the mattress safely.

With her shocked eyes beginning to relax as she stared at the objects, she swallowed, beginning to realise just how dry her throat actually was. "O-Okay. Thanks, sis..." And at those words, the other girl stopped. _Sis. _Even something as simple as that could activate so many reactions within her body, including a mixed sense of dread and excitement she had never felt before. She wasn't sure whether she was glad or hating how easily the other had used the name, but brushed it off with a smile.

Before she made another move, Yang paused. No matter how hard she tried though, she came to a realisation that made her eyes furrow in disappointment. _'I really can't remember what my own face looks like, even though I saw it the other day... It's strange, having to be reminded of such things, but I can't do much about that... can I...?' _Leaving the question unanswered, she picked up the objects in one hand each, lifting them both towards herself.

_'...oh. Right.' _At the sight of her own reflection staring back at her, her dull gaze didn't waver in the slightest. The only thing she felt was a sense of contentment, like the unease in her chest had been settled at such a simple image. _'I shouldn't go forgetting something as important as that.' _Just to make sure the image could be burned into her head for future reference and ease, she sat there, rotating the mirror in all directions as she stared, making sure to remember every detail there was again.

She ignored the over-looking glances of the other two girls as she finally put the mirror down for a moment. When she tilted it back up to her face, she lifted the brush also. _'Now, I wonder how knotty this will be...' _It seemed those words alone wouldn't do her curiosity enough justice. However, she was quick to learn the answer.

As she ran the brush through her bright hair, she came to realise just how thick, curly, and messy it all truly was, and how much of a pain it would be to look after it. For the next few pain-staking minutes, Yang sat on her bed, pulling and tugging at her hair in frustration as she tried to remove all of the knots from her strands of hair. _'And I was protective over this...?' _she repeated, still wondering as to how someone could get so attached to something so simple and messy. _'I might as well straighten my hair...'_

But of course, the girl had no idea how to do this, and immediately dismissed the idea. The others would probably find it too strange of an occurrance to properly accept it too- something she wanted to avoid at all costs.

After finally being satisfied with how her hair felt and looked, she put the objects back onto her bed, glancing down at Ruby. "Say, where should I keep these now...?" she questioned. It seemed that during the time she spent fixing her appearance, her sister and her partner had gotten changed into more suitable day-time clothes.

"Hm?" she questioned. She hadn't been paying attention until the words reached her, and she walked by her bedside. "Oh, you can give them to me, if you want. I can hold onto them, they'll only be over there."And with a point of her finger, she directed Yang's gaze to the suitcases and drawers she had been searching through earlier.

With a nod, the girl lowered the objects down into her younger sister's grasp, making sure as to not lose her balance over the edge of the bed as she did so. "Thanks." she added before the other skipped off, putting the mirror and brush away where she found them.

"Not a problem at all, sis." she replied with a bright smile.

. . .

"...noisy..." Those were the first words to slip from the faunas' mouth before she had even properly awoken. With Yang's occasional questioning, it was almost impossible to realise that Ruby and Weiss' bickering was quite forced, but nonetheless, Blake found it difficult to stay in bed for any longer. Still, her body wasn't ready to pull herself from the relaxing state she found herself in. She was still ridden with fatigue- the lack of sleep she had been getting that week was settling in. Instead, she rolled over in her bed, pulling the covers above her head.

However, this did not go unseen by the rest of her team.

It had only been half an hour or so since Yang woke up, so the three of awakened girls had kept a curious eye on their final teammate. Because of this, the blonde in particular found herself wanting to glance down at her partner below. She knew that if she had been on level ground, like the other two, she would have sent glances her way every few seconds. The curiosity within her chest just wouldn't seem to settle.

For the other two, keeping an eye on her was as easy as arguing back to their partner. Ruby was the first one to catch Blake's first inital movement however, happening to cast an eye over at her figure as she pulled the blankets up to cover her face. Her eyes seemed to light up, and all signs of playful annoyance had disappeared from her face.

Weiss wasn't sure why. "Ruby? Are you even listening? Why are you staring so intently at Blake while she sleeps, anyway?" she sharply questioned, finding relaxation in their usual routine. However, the red head didn't need to grace her with a reply for her to get an idea of an answer. Ice-coloured eyes finding their way onto the faunas, she blinked, pausing. "...oh." she muttered.

Unlike her partner, who had already shifted her gaze back to her white-haired partner, Weiss continued to stare at the other. The threatening look she gave almost screamed, 'she'd better get out of bed right now'. Blake was lucky she couldn't seen anything but darkness.

"Hey, Weiss. She'll get up whenever she's ready..." she whispered, inching closer to her partner. "Give her time, okay?"

The other could only let out a sigh in defeat, eyes taking on a softer look as they made their way back on Ruby. "...fine, if you're so insistent on it, then I won't go over there and get her up." she murmured. From their hushed tones, Yang could barely hear them, and was left to blankly stare at the sudden change of mood. _'Okay... I have no idea what just happened, but I'm guessing Blake did something beneath me.' _she assumed, unable to glance down and confirm her theory.

"...you guys... are still speaking really loud..." was what the black-haired girl muttered from under the covers of her blanket. Her lack of sleep was certainly present in her dry tone, almost as if all signs of energy had been drained from her body. The girl surely felt that way too, wanting nothing more than to lie around all day. She doubted she could keep up the regular act for much longer too, especially with how her body was constantly urging her to give in and isolate herself from the others.

Ruby and Weiss were caught off guard by the sudden voice, and also disappointed at how their attempts of being quiet had failed. It wasn't surprising however, and they went with it, brushing it off. "Oh. Sorry, Blake." Ruby quickly apologised, still wearing a faint smile. "But good morning to you too!"

The other grumbled, breathing loudly through her nostrils. "...morning." she spoke through her teeth, rubbing at her eyes from under the blanket. Blake ended up curling further up into a ball as she did so, tugging on the covers around her.

"Someone seems to be in a _wonderful _mood..." Weiss whispered to herself, eyes finding the floor for that one sentence. "...are you planning on getting up anytime today? I know we have a day off, but seriously. I doubt any of us want to waste it _sleeping."_

Holding back the retort and harsh words she wanted to say to the other, Blake blamed her bad attitude on her fatigue. There was really no other reason for it anyway, and she tried to reword her thoughts as best as she could. "...I'll get up when I feel like it..."

But before Weiss could get in another word, someone else stepped in- and after that, the room went silent.

"So, if you usually get up early, then why don't you feel like doing that today...? Is it because I'm here...?" Yang's words pierced through Blake's barrier of fatigue for a moment, allowing her eyes to wide in shock at the unexpected comment. It wasn't the way she said it though, or how sudden it was. The only thing that made her pause was the fact that it was, without a doubt, _correct._

The harsh atmosphere was almost as intense as the amount of guilt the blonde suddenly felt for ruining the peace. She swallowed, trying to clear her dry throat before she opened her mouth to speak again.

However, before she could even begin, another girl beat her to it, much to her surprise.

"Yang, not everything... is your fault... okay?" Blake spoke from beneath the other girl. Though she seemed almost hesitant to speak, her voice was full of tenderness and care- something that helped soothe the atmosphere, at least, slightly. "I... I just didn't get to sleep all that early last night. Let's leave it at that, shall we...?" But as she continued on, instead of sounding assuring, she started sounding doubtful.

_'Let's leave it at that, shall we...?' _The response she received replayed itself in Yang's simple-tracked mind. Her mouth fell to a frown. _'Just by saying that, she's hinting that there's more beneath that reason... has losing my memories really made that much difference to them?' _The blonde wasn't about to voice her question aloud though, for she already knew the answer. She just didn't want to believe it herself. She wanted to change it at all costs, and so, she stopped thinking about it altogether.

"Okay. If you say so..." That was the weak reply that followed, allowing the room to become silent once again.

At this point though, Ruby wasn't willing to let the mood fall again. She wanted to smile. She wanted to see everyone smiling again, including her sister. If that meant that she had to be the one to push herself the hardest, and break every silence they fell into, then she would gladly do so.

"S... Say, after you get up, Blake..." As soon as the words came from her mouth, the red head was washed with a sense of regret. She sounded too hesitant and unstable, and all she wanted to do was erase the start of her sentence. When she casted a glance towards her blank-faced sister, a reminder shocked through her, and she continued on. _'No turning back now, anyway...' _"...what do you guys wanna do together?" Leaving the question in the air for any response, the girl cupped her hands behind her back. Wearing a faint smile, she rocked back and forth on her heels in anticipation, wishing for the nerves in her body to disappear.

"Well... what is there _to _do?" Weiss began, voice sounding awfully soft compared to her usual, forceful tone. "We've got a whole three days to ourselves. Of course, Yang has however long she wants, but the rest of us, at least... and we've got an entire school to explore. Our choices are almost endless, you know."

"That's... true." Her partner responded, pondering as she nodded her head.

"We could do anything, really. If you were to ask me, I'd say we should go along with whatever Yang feels like doing, or wherever she feels like going." The faunas suggested, finally pulling the blanket just below her chin. Though her reaction was a little delayed, as she had yet to grow used to her own name, the mentioned blonde girl blinked in confusion.

"Whatever... I feel like doing...?" she repeated, face still showing no signs of it's usual amount of bouncing energy and liveliness. "This... isn't this a really big school...? How am I supposed to choose where to go...?"

Though the conversation had awkward pauses and everything was moving along quite slowly, Ruby still found gratefulness for it. When every one of her team members were conversing, as if it were another normal day, it helped her get her mind off things. "You don't have to make that decision now, it was just an idea." she added, with a friendly gaze. "There are a lot of places we have to show you, though..."

"Could you... name some for me, so I have an idea...?" To be completely honest, Yang was also grateful for the amount of conversation going on. The social atmosphere of a dorm room was definitely better for her mental state than a lonely hospital room. She was getting used to communicating freely again, and allowing her thoughts to flow freely from her mouth.

"Some places, huh...?" The red head began once more, looking to the ceiling. "Well, there's... there's the classrooms, but obviously we can't go in there yet. There's the cafeteria, other dorm rooms, the rooftops, training area, main hall..."

"Rooftops? Training area...?" The older sibling just repeated the places that seemed peculiar, and caught her interest. Her eyes even took on a curious shine; something that seemed to be becoming more regular and normal with each day. "Do all regular schools here have those things...?"

The younger let out a small laugh, forcing it out to lighten the mood. "Probably not? But this isn't a regular school, you see. This is one of the best combat schools out there, if you hadn't noticed..." she continued, using every ounce of will in her body to keep that smile on her face.

"Oh..." The other paused for a moment, letting out a small hum before looking back up to the shorter girl. "...one question though... does the cafeteria here... serve good food?"

That's when the room paused.

And Ruby's immature snickering was what broke the silence.

"...you've been eating hospital food, riiiiight..." she reminded herself, whispering through her giggles. "Then yes, Yang. The cooks here at this school are pretty decent." Almost as if she felt relief in hearing those words, Yang released a deep breath, allowing her eyes to scan over the room.

"Speaking of the cafeteria." Weiss added in, placing a hand to her hip. "Are you two hungry at all...?" The other girls paused in thought. Luckily for them, their stomachs did not decide to answer the question for them, and the room kept quiet. "I'd ask you, Blake, but I don't believe you'd be willing to move from your bed anytime soon... am I correct?"

Letting out a reluctant sight, the faunas shook her head. The white-haired other seemed to be the only one to catch this, dismissing it with a proud nod of her head. Her moment of triumph didn't last long however, since she did ask two questions within that time.

"Sure, I could go for some food!" Ruby announced, eyes sparkling at the thought of the food in the cafeteria. All of the fruits, drinks, deserts and other meals... the choices were almost endless, and she was quick to fill with excitement at the thought. That is, before her head decided to remind her of a special occasion that had involved the cafeteria.

Everyone, including Team JNPR was present for it: the food fight right before her second semester at Beacon Academy.

Although near an entire year had passed since that day, the memory seemed further away than it probably should. Those smiles that Ruby looked back on... she knew they would never be the same ever again.

And it was at that point, where her own smile faltered. Silver eyes finding the floor, the conversation around her was immediately drowned out. The only thing she could hear was the echoing voice of her own thoughts- the world she seemed to be paying attention to a lot more than reality, as of recent. _'What am I doing...? I'm meant to be a leader, I'm meant to be a little sister... I can't just go thinking of... days like that. I've got a role to fulfil here, and, and someone to help out... come on, Ruby! I've gotta smile...! I've just gotta keep smiling, and... everything will be okay.'_

Those were the words she repeated to herself as Weiss continued to speak out loud. The other girl kept her eyes off her partner who seemed deep in thought, fearing for how her own tone would waver if she dared to look her way. "And you, Yang?"

The blonde blinked slowly, pouting for a split moment, before looking down to the pale other. "...I guess I'm kinda hungry." was her vague response. It seemed to be sufficient enough though, as no one objected or questioned her further on it.

"Alright, then its settled. Whenever you guys are ready, we can head out to the cafeteria and grab something to eat. Sound good?" The amnesiac nodded her head in understanding. "Good. Now, if you want to get there before more students fill the hallways..." Lingering on her words, Weiss cast a glance towards the red head beside her. She looked just as lost as she did earlier, however, the other was not going to stand for it. To solve this issue, her hand immediately swept across to smack the other in the arm.

"H-Huh? What?" Ruby's attention was immediately caught at the sudden contact, as her body jolted in shock. With her eyes wide and blinking, she shot her head in all directions, body freezing as she finally made contact with her stern-faced partner.

"...then I suggest hurrying up." she finished, folding her arms once more as her expression lightened. Although Ruby had no idea what was being said or what she needed to hurry up for, she nodded her head at her partner, smile slowly curling upon her lips.

Yang could only sit and watch in silence and confusion. She wanted to ask so many questions, just like at any moment of the day, but at the same time, she didn't wish to hear any answers. If it meant the others had to become uncomfortable and go through more misery, then she would much rather not knowing anything- which is the reason why she kept silent.

Well, about the important questions, at least. "Um... guys? One question." The other two instantly looked up at the speaking girl.

"Yes?" The Schnee heiress responded, allowing the blonde to continue. Her lilac eyes slowly drifted from the pair below her to the unstable bed she was positioned on, swallowing down at the view below. "...I know you told me earlier... but...could I get some help with getting down...?"

Though her voice was filled with genuine fear and worry, the other two couldn't help finding it amusing- that is, if they ignored their foremost and loudest thoughts. Ignoring whatever else they found themselves thinking about, the two seemed to shake their heads in disappointment in sync.

"You really don't like it up there, do you, sis...?" Ruby asked, nervously adding in a laugh to show the light attitude she forced on. _'Just smile, and I'll adapt... smile, and adapt... I can do this.'_ she repeated to herself, waiting for the other in anticipation.

She shook her head slowly. "N-No, not really..." she began, voice weak with concern. "I guess... its just another thing I'll have to get used to." And although the pain of that statement was still fresh, Ruby stretched her smile across her face.

"Yeah, I guess so..." was her sentimental reply. With another quick shake of her head though, her cheerful tone had returned, all signs of hesitation lost in that instant. "But anyway. Since we know Blake is awake, you can use the method we explained earlier and use the mattress to help you, or you can just jump." she suggested.

However, Yang didn't even need to waste time thinking in order to make her decision. "...I'll take the _safe_ method..." she responded, as her bare hands grasped onto the blanket covering her legs. It didn't take long for the blonde to shuffle out from under it, and freely swing her legs over the edge. _'This... okay, now this is the furthest... I'm going to get.' _she realised, blinking in disbelief at the view below. _'That... really is a long way down...' _she noted.

"Don't worry. If you fall, we can catch you. Though I hate to be the one recommending it, either option is safe, so... jumping is a lot easier." That was the explanation that came from the heiress. However, it didn't seem to persuade the other girl in the slightest. The idea of jumping off a high bunk bed like this was absolutely ridiculous- and not to mention, impossible, in her state.

"...no thank you... I don't think... I'll be able to do something like that at all, even so." The girl swallowed, trying to calm herself as she continued to stare at the ground below. She knew it wasn't the smartest idea to continue looking down, as they always said, but she couldn't help herself. Her body didn't want to cooperate, or even move from the position she found herself in.

"...I don't mind if you use my bed to help you. You'll get used to it eventually, after all." And just as quickly as the response came, Blake shut her mouth, not bothering to speak another word after that. Though she was internally grateful for the OK she received, Yang didn't voice it aloud.

"Okay..." was the reply she gave instead. Feeling the pair of eyes focused on her and the pressure of the room sink under her skin, the girl held onto the growing amount of trust she had for the others and looked around her. Surely, it wouldn't be _too_ hard to grab onto the bed's side rail and lower herself down.

At that thought, the blonde glanced down at her arms. They didn't seem to be very wimpy arms at all, so maybe she could actually pull it off safely. The mattress would support her feet anyway, and if she failed, the others would be right there. There was nothing to worry about... right?

Even so, she found herself doing exactly that. Worrying. Thinking about the unnecessary, when all she needed to do was get off the damn bunk bed so they could get food. How hard could it be? Apparently, for an amnesiac with a sudden, irrational fear of heights, it seemed to be extremely hard.

"...are you coming down any time today, Yang?" Ruby asked, watching with a raised eyebrow at every moment the girl made. The words almost caused her to jump and fall off the edge of the bed- something she did not want to ever happen. Her heart leapt from her chest, but that was about it. Luckily enough, her body stayed steady and upright as she made eye-contact with the girl down below.

"Y-Yeah... just give me... one moment." she responded, trying her best to support her voice with an assuring tone. It wasn't working very well.

"Alright, if you say so-"

"That's one moment long enough, Blake can keep an eye on her. Let's go, Ruby, it'll motivate her to move."

"W-What...? Hey...! Let go of my hood...! Noooo!..." And in an instant, the Ice Flower pair had been dragged from the room. Because they were just outside of the door, Ruby's constant protesting and squirming was still audible to the confused girls in the room.

Yang blinked, head turning in all directions. "W...What..." She couldn't quite get the words out of her mouth straight away, before she paused to collect herself. "...what just happened...?"

Though she couldn't hear much, the blonde could make out the sound of covers shuffling from the bed beneath her. "The usual..." came Blake's quiet reply. She was clearly reluctant to speak, but did so anyway, not wanting to leave the other's question unanswered either.

"The... usual...?" she repeated. That was almost all that came from her mouth though, as her thoughts took over her for a moment._ 'So... they're trying to be normal around me, huh...? I guess... I can't really tell how much of this is actually normal just yet, though. Hopefully... ah, never mind that... hopefully I can get down from here soon. Soon...'_

Her thoughts took a dramatic turn as her eyes fell onto the ground once more, body beginning to squirm in discomfort. The listened in on the conversation outside in an attempt to calm herself, but even once she did so successfully, it didn't seem to be helping in the slightest.

"...is leaving my sister in there, on her own to get down really a good idea...?"

"She'll be fine."

"You were the one who said we'd be there to catch her, though. What happens if she hurts herself again...?"

"...she'll be fine... hopefully."

"Weiss..."

"Stop worrying, will you...? It... felt weird to be in there, okay? And plus, think of this as a small test for her."

"...and if she fails?"

"...stop worrying, will you...?"

Their tones changed from carefree, to caring, and to miserable all too quickly for Yang to truly be comfortable with. Was she really causing that much of a fuss? Did it really make things that difficult? She knew she didn't want answers. Now, compared to the amount of guilt and dread she could feel tugging at her heart again, the nerves in her stomach felt like nothing.

And, while using this moment of strength, her shaking limbs decided to take action.

Pivoting around in her seat, her knees rested on the mattress instead while she observed the area around her. Hooking her hands carefully onto the side rail, she then let out a deep breath in preparation. In one swift motion, she lowered her bent legs from the mattress and straightened them out, holding herself upright with her arms as her feet swung to meet the mattress below.

What made her feel proud was that despite her muscles aching as she landed, she did it all safely. _Safely._

Her arms weren't about to strain themselves for too much longer, however. Feeling a surge of aching pain through her upper limbs, the blonde immediately released her grip, allowing herself to stumble back off the mattress, and to stand upright on the floor.

She was on level ground again. Now, that was something that really brought relief through the girl's body.

Letting out a deep sigh, the blonde gave herself a moment to recollect her breath and her mind as she looked around the room. Surprisingly enough, after that one moment, Yang found herself standing quite firmly on the ground. Unlike the days she spent in the hospital, she didn't sway or falter. For someone who had spent almost a whole week lying down, she was stable.

As stable as she would get for now, at least.

As she stood in silence, she finally realised the lack of communication going on outside the room. _'Wait... where are those two...?' _she immediately wondered, as images of Weiss and Ruby flashed in her mind to remind her. _'Are they further away, or... did they just stop talking...?' _

Seeing as there was only one way to find out however, the blonde began to take shallow breaths, dragging her heels along the floor as she slowly made her way from one end of the room to the other. She had placed her hand atop the cold doorknob when another thought ran through her head; a thought that made her feel quite oblivious and stupid.

Turning slowly on her heel, her face was full of curiosity when she faced the other girl in the room. She was curled up in a tight ball on her bed, face exposed as her half-lidded eyes stared at the blankets before her. Though it was clear she wasn't looking up to notice, Yang kept her blank expression as she slowly waved a hand. "I... I'll see you later, Blake."

Almost as if she was stunned by the sudden words, Blake paused, eyes shooting from her blanket and up to the other girl. As she let out a breath, her eyes fluttered closed, allowing herself to relax as best she could. "...see you, Yang." was her muffled response, as she pulled the blanket in front of her mouth.

Feeling somewhat content at her words, the blonde saw no reason to hang about, and turned around once more. Opening the door, she wasted no time in taking another step into the hallways of Beacon, shutting the door behind her with a solid click. She didn't seem to notice her partner's lingering gaze from behind her.

The blonde barely had a moment to take in the surroundings once more, before she felt another body fiercely push past her own. They happened to barge into her left shoulder as they did so, not only causing her to lose most of her balance, but for her shoulder to burst out into pain.

"Oh! Sorry!" Yang was too busy wincing and stopping her body from falling over to hear the male's apology. With her other hand cupped over the injured limb, the girl slowly looked up to the other figure. He had stopped rushing through the halls at the contact, and was now standing before the blonde with a panic-stricken face. "I-I really didn't mean to- wait."

Watching the also blonde-haired other with curious eyes, Yang bit on her tongue, silencing herself and any questions to come as she waited. "Oh, Yang! You really are back. That's a relief... it's good to see you again. I missed you, you know?" As the pathetic-looking boy continued, the patient felt an overwhelming sense of discomfort and guilt wash over her.

_'Not... another person... who knows me...' _she thought, as the blue-eyed figure continued. "Ruby and Weiss went down this way before, right? I was looking for them, and well... okay, I wasn't looking for them, Pyrrha was. I was just helping her, since that's what I do, and stuff..." he paused, looking around.

However, before he could even get in another word, a question slipped from Yang's mouth.

One that she immediately came to regret.

"...who are you?"

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**A/N: My, these chapters are becoming longer and loooonger. Like wow. XD**

**I guess that's my gift to all the lovely and amazing people that actually read this. It makes me really happy to see that others are enjoying my work, you know? ;v;**

**Like usual, if you've got some feedback, comments, or anything you would like to say, reviews are always appreciated!~**

**I'll see you in the next one~**


	6. Chapter 6: August 2nd Part II

**Chapter 6: A Blonde, Scraggly Boy**

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**A/N: Guess who's baaaaack? :D (unintentional Yang quoting *cough cough*)  
**

**I know. It's been way too long since I've updated, BUT! After a small hiatus (I suppose) of writer's block, I've finally returned with more goodness of RWBY. ^w^**

**Enjoy~!**

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The blonde boy blinked. His eyebrows furrowed together slowly and his mouth sat open, almost as if there was something on the tip of his tongue that he just couldn't say. His eyes lingered on the other, although for once, they didn't show any signs of pain. Noticing this only made Yang more confused, but she didn't dare mention it. She had already screwed up by letting that one question slip- she couldn't afford to do it again.

But before she could even word another question in her head, the boy burst into a small laughter. He shook his hand in front of him, literally waving it off, though he did seem a little hesitant. "Oh, good one! You guys nearly had me going for a moment there. I mean, I heard what your team said before, but there's _no _way that could be true, right?" His nervous laughter didn't help either of the duo's discomfort.

"...huh?" The boy only continued to chuckle to himself.

"You guys sure did go pretty far that time. I knew you liked pranks, but amnesia? Seriously? Isn't that a little _too _farfetched?" However, his innocent sounding words didn't sit well with the other girl at all.

She couldn't quite describe what emotions she was feeling, but whatever it was, it was weighing her down. Curiosity immediately wiped off her face, and a sense of dread took over it. Her eyes drifted off to the floor as the words played in her mind. _'He... thinks its all a... prank...? Hah... I wish it was... Why do I have to be the person to... to bring others down like this...?'_

It seemed that as she got caught up in her thoughts, Yang must have looked more blank and lifeless than usual. Jaune did happen to notice, after all, and his hand immediately shifted to the habitual spot of behind his neck. "Yang...? Did you hear me, or what...?"

To put it bluntly, it hurt. Having to be so upfront with people she knew she was close with, but couldn't identify why, really hurt. She felt she was ruining everyone's day, ruining everyone's lives just by saying such simple phrases. But at the same time, with the curiosity and thought of the future gnawing at her heart, she couldn't avoid it. No matter how hard she tried, there was nothing she could do about her memories anymore. She would just have to work to rebuild them, one step at a time.

_'He didn't... answer my question, either. Just who _is _this boy? Who was he to me? There are so many possibilities, I can't even begin to imagine how I would get along with... someone like him...' _And at that, the female suddenly remembered something important.

Her diary, and the names she had written inside. _'I was supposed to meet a second team, wasn't I? There was a bunch of new people I had to meet sometime, and most had really weird names... like, one started with a P, and another was something like R... Rin... but the most normal sounding one was John or Jaune, or something.' _It was at that moment, when the clear memory of when her little sister described this team to her flashed in her mind. Her eyes widened. _'She... said the tall, scraggly one with blonde hair was Jaune, didn't she...? I'm sure it was... something like that...' _

As she pondered, she ignored the gloved hand being waved up in her face. "Uh, Yang? Hello? Did I hit the pause button on reality, or something...?"

But even after coming to such a conclusion, one sentence was all it took for her to deem all of those thoughts meaningless.

_'If I screw things up, it'll just be even worse...'_

And so, she blinked her eyes, snapping back into reality with a dull expression. She slowly met the other's gaze, at which his hand fell back by his sides. "Oh, so you _are _alive. Nice to know, haha!" he joked, with a grin. However, as much as it pained her to do so, she knew that smile couldn't last.

"Hey, actually, um..." she began, but as soon as the words came out from her mouth, her volume dropped. "I..." But as she trailed on, she realised just how difficult it was to get the words out of her mouth.

The boy's actions weren't helping her, either. Patiently, he waited, with one eyebrow raised at the girl before him in confusion. He could feel the beating of his heart, thudding up against his chest as he anxiously kept silent and stiff. Still, he wore a smile upon his face, trying to use that gesture to spread happiness through his body. "Yes...? What is it...?" The look on Yang's face looked too... grim to really be Yang. Or at least, that's what Jaune thought.

The girl paused, swallowing in an attempt to clear herself from any hesitation before slowly meeting the other's gaze. It seemed as soon as she did so however, her body was suddenly shocked into a full body cast, and she couldn't move a muscle. She could barely blink or twitch her fingers. Everything felt stiff, and tense. Her mouth felt dry.

But she knew that no matter how hard she tried, pretending she had something she didn't would be too great of a challenge for her.

_'There's no way I'll screw up if all I'm saying is the truth... right?' _With that sole thought of hope in her mind, she drew a deep breath, eyes softening in an almost empathetic gaze.

"I really don't... remember you... I can only assume that I'm supposed to, though..." Jaune blinked. "...and I'm sorry... but this isn't the sick prank I wish it was."

The duo remained silent, staring at each other in their own world for moments longer. Yang didn't have the courage to add anything else, while Jaune had no idea what to say. The girl felt a sense of dread and regret, while all the boy felt was confusion.

. . .

Meanwhile, around the corner of the hallway the blonde duo stood in, another pair of students were conversing.

"Weiss..."

"Okay, I get it, I made a mistake, okay? Stop _pestering me about it already." _The voice of the Schnee heiress and her partner filled the empty cafeteria- though not for long, as the girls were on the move, making their way through Beacon's hallways once more.

"I'm not pestering you...! I'm just saying that she might..."

"And you're 'just saying' too much! Quit it already! She'll be _fine, _don't you get that? She might have amnesia, but that doesn't mean she's incompetent."

And it was at those words; those words that slipped from the girl's mouth so casually, that Ruby felt her happy façade slip from her grasp.

"_...I bet you're just saying that because you don't care."_

Weiss stopped in her tracks, eyes wide and glued to the ground before her heeled-feet. The words shocked through her, setting off a number of emotions that she couldn't understand. Slowly, her head came to turn to face the red head following behind her, as she stared with furrowed eyebrows and a frown.

"...what?"

For some reason, Ruby hadn't prepared herself for such a startled response. The poison plaguing her mind slowed as she also stopped in her tracks, almost shamefully meeting her partner's gaze. The silence that followed seemed too thick, and as she pondered on it, the girl wished she hadn't said anything at all. After all, she was probably just worn out from everything around her- she didn't mean the words truly... right?

Right. That's what she convinced herself of with a shake of her head.

Though pieces of hatred still ached within her chest, the girl knew she had to set them aside. They were growing out of control, and they weren't necessary. They weren't necessary. They weren't necessary.

That's what she convinced herself of.

Forcing on a gentle smile, she shook her head with a greater force, making it noticeable to the other, whose gaze was still aimed at her. "...it's nothing."

But, of course, the other was less than convinced. The words only continued to get on her nerves, as she huffed, taken aback.

"What?" she repeated again, placing a hand to her chest. "Ruby, I _heard _what you said, don't you dare act otherwise." Her tone remained quite commanding, all thoughts of keeping it easy on the other pushed aside for the moment. After making such an accusation one that actually stuck with the girl- she wasn't about to just brush it off as 'nothing'.

She could feel her confidence wavering and her doubts rising, but Ruby's smile didn't do so in the slightest, remaining just as gentle as ever. She shut her eyes, letting out a quiet laugh. "Really, Weiss. Let's not talk about things like that now, Yang needs us."

_"What?" _The other couldn't _believe _what she was hearing. "_You _were the one who brought something like that up out of the blue, and you expect _me _to drop it and move on? Just how much do you expect from people, huh?" Even though her voice began echoing through the halls, Weiss didn't notice how much she had raised her volume at all.

With no other choice, the red head grabbed her partner by the wrist, and continued walking forward as she ignored her constant, genuine protests. "We have to go, just try your best to ignore it. I didn't mean it, so let's get back to Yang already! It's more important, anyway." she explained.

That's what she convinced herself of.

. . .

"Pfft. Y-You guys have _got _to be kidding me." With a wave of his hand, Jaune's clumsy smile had taken over his face once more. He rolled his eyes at the words, missing the especially hurt expression the blonde girl gave in response. "You can stop being stupid now. There's no need to pretend to be all serious and stuff like that. I mean, an injury is one thing, but amnesia? Totally another story."

Yang didn't bother saying anything back. She simply waited. Staring. In silence. Allowing her dull gaze to do all the explaining for her.

When Jaune met this dead gaze once more, he finally began to receive the message.

"...o-oh." was the word that fumbled out of his mouth, tension of the atmosphere and nerves beginning to chip away at his calm composure. "...you really... _are _being serious, huh...?"

Yang felt she could only do one thing in response, to at least reassure the other boy. "I'm... sorry..."

And at those words, Jaune really began to feel the sense of defeat wash over him. The reality was staring him right in the face, as it always had been, but only now did he have his eyes wide open to it. He cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his head out of habit before looking to the floor.

"N-No, wait, Yang..." he began, unsure of exactly how to word his feelings and thoughts. "I... I should be the one to apologise. I'm the one who didn't take you seriously, I'm the one who was thick-headed and too optimistic... heh, I must have made you feel pretty bad too. Good job, me..."

Of all things, the girl didn't want to see another person with those eyes.

Those eyes that contained nothing but sadness, pain, and a fake happiness that they tried to cover all of that up in.

"I guess I was just being-"

"Jaune?" Out of almost nowhere from behind the boy, a lighter voice pierced the atmosphere, reaching his ears as it carried the heavy weight away with it.

"Huh?" said boy muttered, instinctively turning around. His eyes widened and genuinely shined when he saw the red head before him- but the red head wasn't alone. "Ruby...?"

"Oh, Yang! So _this _is where you were this entire time...?" As the duo approached, Ruby widened her smile across her face. _'Maybe the bigger it is, the more convincing it'll be. Maybe I'll convince myself as wel- wait, what am I talking about? I am happy, I _am _happy anyway.'_

The chains weighing the amnesiac's heart down tightened once she made eye-contact with her little sister and her partner. Though she despised the fact that more people were around her- so in other words, more people she was dragging down- she was grateful they appeared when they did. Their timing couldn't have been any better.

"What's going on, you guys?" The red head continued, standing next to the blondes to create a square of people, all facing the centre. While she wore a smile, she was well aware of the fact that the atmosphere she had stepped into wasn't fitting for it at all.

"Oh, just nothing..." Jaune waved off, with a forced laugh. "Yang and I were just... talking."

"Talking? About what?" The girl continued asking.

"Oh, just... ordinary stuff."

"Ordinary stuff, huh...?" Though she had no intent of ever wiping the smile off her face, she also didn't want to act too oblivious. The facts were facts, after all, no amount of happiness was going to change that.

And so, she just played along as usual, with a normal attitude.

"So, did Yang tell you, then...?" she asked, bouncing on her heels as she spoke.

"Tell me...?"

"About her... condition." _Thump, thump, thump. _Her heartbeat echoed in her ears, though she used every ounce of will inside her to ignore it, and play along innocently.

"Condition...? O-Oh, right, yeah. She did." No matter how hard he tried though, Jaune couldn't quite match the nonchalant attitude of Ruby. The shock still lingered in the back of his brain, and it was difficult to act otherwise.

Noticing this, Ruby tweaked her smile down a notch, allowing it to simply sit across her face. She didn't want to be a pain or nuisance, since this was a serious issue they were dealing with. _'Maybe that's what Weiss' stare is trying to say to me as well. This is a serious issue...' _

"Well... do your thing, then." she vaguely addressed, making the poor boy even more lost. He blinked, raising an eyebrow as he stiffened.

"H-Huh? My... my 'thing'?" Ruby giggled, shaking her head.

"Why don't you... introduce yourself? That's what I was trying to say..." she explained. Nodding along, the other seemed to finally understand, letting out a small 'oh' under his breath. "...since, well... we can't let you stay in this blank state forever, right, sis?"

Surprised by the sudden words and the flash of a glance she received, Yang nodded, eyes widened. "Right..." She couldn't say anything else, but her sister didn't expect her to, anyway.

"Ruby." Weiss intervened, arms crossed in front of her chest. For such a reserved position, her voice was quite fitting, being in a more hushed tone than usual. "Aren't you... going a little fast, here? There's no need to rush things, especially since you need to consider the consequences of..."

"It'll be fine." was her quick response. "See, if Yang's okay with all this, then there shouldn't be a problem, right?" Even throughout all this, Ruby was determined to never let her mask falter ever again. Well, until she was alone, but now wasn't the time to be thinking about times like that.

"...right... if you say so. Well, there's nothing stopping you, then. Go ahead." she motioned, dropping the subject with a side glance at Jaune.

Almost as if her eyes alone send sparks flying through his body, he jolted in his position, arms flying up to his chest. "A-Ah, right...!" he stuttered, reluctantly shifting his gaze to the quiet blonde in front of him. _'Now. Now's your time to shine, Jaune. You've gotta do this, and _not _screw up. Now's your chance, your once chance, so... don't blow it...!'_

Clearing his throat again, purely for the dramatic effect, he wiped the confused frown off his face. Holding his head up high, he put on a proud smile, puffing out his chest to give himself a sense of confidence. Then, he placed a hand on his hip, pointing at himself with the other. "Well, if you need me to re-introduce myself, it won't be a bother to me at all." he began. "I'm Jaune, Jaune Arc! I'm also known as the... the uh, lady killer, but I'm sure you'll find out why soon enough. I'm the leader of Team JNPR, and great friends with the rest of your team, so... yeah. Hopefully we can hit off again well, Yang."

While his voice was quite dry and his nerves kept fading in and out of his tone, the boy felt quite accomplished with himself once he had finished. Weiss and Ruby begged to differ.

The former held a hand to her forehead as she shook her head, disappointment showing all over her as she muttered under her breath. "...well... that's _one _way of introducing yourself... at least he's not taking this all to heart."

Meanwhile, Ruby was working on holding in a snicker. A fake snicker, mind you, but it suited the atmosphere, and the girl saw it as necessary. She kept shifting her gaze from person to person in the square, eyeing everyone with a cheesy grin as she waited for a response.

Yang, meanwhile, was almost blown away by the absolutely confusing attitude of this so-called, Jaune Arc._ 'So... _this _is Jaune Arc, huh...?' _she repeated in her head, furrowed eyebrows and wide eyes displaying the conflicting emotions she felt. _'I don't... I don't even know what to feel. He seems like a nice guy, but... at the same time, he seems like he's really nervous...' _A part of her felt almost sorry for the boy.

"I-I..." she blinked slowly, eyes showing their dull colour of lilac through the silence. "It's nice to meet you... again, Jaune. I've heard good things about you... already... from the others." The girl wasn't exactly comfortable with the idea of idle chatting, since she knew deep underneath it all everyone else was uncomfortable with it, but she could only go with the flow, and hope for the best.

"Wait, what? Really? You have...?" Jaune's attitude seemed to do a complete 180, going from a confident play-boy image to an oblivious, clumsy student. Since the proud laughter Yang expected from him never came, she merely continued with a nod of her head.

"Yeah, actually..." she began, trying to recall exactly what she had written in her diary, and what her teammates had said during their hospital visits. Before she could even open her mouth to speak more though, she felt someone nudge her in the side.

Turning immediately, she found her little sister grinning at her, and standing awfully close to her. "Hey, I think I forgot to tell you one thing though." Ruby spoke in a hushed tone, almost like a whisper. She had a plan, or rather, news to tell her sister that she felt was necessary information. It only made it better than the other two were listening to her quiet voice.

Tilting her head in confusion, the blonde raised an eyebrow. "What is it...?"

Ruby continued to snicker, placing a hand beside her mouth to direct her voice towards her sister. "Something about Jaune..." she began. The other didn't interrupt, glancing straight at the red head as she spoke. "He was special."

"Special...?"

_"I-I'm special...?" _Jaune's confused voice rung out, as she scratched at his cheek in confusion.

"What are you two sisters plotting over there?" Weiss' cold voice questioned. The two seemed to ignore her though, and Ruby's giggles seemed to only increase. The white-haired girl huffed, rolling her eyes as she listened to her words.

"Yeah, special...!" Ruby repeated.

"Special in what way...?" Her older sister asked.

"Special as in, only to you."

"To me...?"

"Yeah! Jaune was your boyfriend, you know."

"...huh?" Yang blinked.

_"...__**what?" **_It seemed that Jaune was even more confused than the amnesiac somehow though, as his wide eyes were more prominent than Ruby's round of loud laughs, or the sigh that followed from Weiss.

However, before Jaune or Weiss could even interrupt and point out the fact that that wasn't true at all, Ruby winked at them, as if encouraging them to play along.

And so- although for Weiss, it was reluctantly they did.

The blonde girl, meanwhile, slowly turned her head to look over at the only male in the corridor. Now, his shocked expression was replaced with the confidence-radiating one from earlier, and he was looking directly her way. She couldn't help surveying his appearance over, which meant looking him up and down, before she turned back to her sister. _'But, now that I look at him... he's not a very striking or attractive guy... or even someone who seems unique, really...'_

"Are... you serious...?" She knew that if she said anything more, she might end up hurting Jaune's feelings though, and so she kept as quiet as possible.

"Of course I'm serious. I wouldn't try to trick you, now would I...?" Her sister responded. Yang's humour hadn't exactly returned though, and she received a blank stare in response.

"...I don't know, would you...?"

Letting out a small sigh, Ruby shook her head, smiling just as bright. "Well, for your information, no, I wouldn't. Ask him yourself." Yang was beyond confused at this point, gaze shifting from Jaune and Ruby constantly.

"Yup, thaaat's right, haha!" Jaune tried to reassure, despite his dodgy acting skills. He was trying his best though, and that's all that mattered to him.

"I was... interested in a scraggly boy... like him...?"

"S-Scraggly boy?" On accident, Yang let the disappointed words slip from her mouth, and Jaune seemed more than taken aback. Guilt immediately began to flood her being, increased her heart rate as she stared, wide-eyed.

"A-Ah, did I really... I didn't mean it like that, I'm sor..."

"No need to tire yourself out, Yang. You don't have to be sorry." Weiss intervened. Though her arms were still crossed, and her eyes were shut, she seemed too calm about her words to be abe to dismiss. Pausing to listen to what her teammate had to say, Yang glanced over at her. "They're seriously just messing with you. You didn't date Jaune, nor do we expect you to."

"Aww, Weiss, you ruined the fun..." Ruby complained like a child, puffing out her cheeks as she frowned at her partner. At the same time, Yang felt a wave of relief rush over her. She wasn't exactly sure why, either. Sure, the idea of being in a relationship with someone as unorganised as Jaune didn't seem too pleasant, but it shouldn't have provided that much disappointment in her.

_'I don't understand much, anyway. Soon, maybe after a month or so, I'll be able to.' _That's how she dismissed it though, as she forgot about those emotions. However, at that moment, her body decided to remind her of something else.

_Rumble..._

"Eh?" Without warning, Yang's stomach broke the silence around them, and her face immediately took on an embarrassed shade of pink. The giggles that came from her little sister weren't helping her either, though she chose to ignore it.

"You really were hungry, huh...? Well, no worries. We can head off and get food right now, if you really want to, sis." she suggested, with an innocent smile.

_'What is up with Ruby and changing attitudes and subjects so quickly today...?' _Weiss wondered, furrowing her eyebrows. She hated to admit it, but ever since the first hospital visit, she had been worrying about her partner a little too much. She would never dare mention it though, and could do nothing but go along with the other.

"Speaking of which, do you want to join us, Jaune?" Ruby continued. Snapping out of his daze state, the boy rubbed the back of his head again, glancing around the hallway.

"Ah..." As he pondered, he thought of the images of his teammates in his head. It only took that one simple motion for him to finally decide on what to say, though. After all, Yang needed to meet the rest of his team some time soon as well. "Actually, sure, I'll take you up on that offer." he responded, wearing a smile. "I... uh, I'll gather up the rest of my team if you want me to, yeah? That way, everyone could be together again, just like normal."

_Just like normal. _

The words had immediately set off another thought in Yang's mind, and she found herself pausing. Stopping. Even her breathing ceased, unconsciously.

And just like before, there came another unstoppable wave of guilt, as the voices around her were drowned out.

"Sure, that sounds good! Gather everyone, and we'll meet you all in the cafeteria, okay?" Ruby continued.

"You bet. I'll try... try my best to get them all as quickly as possible for you!"

"Alright! We'll be waiting, regardless of how long you take anyway. See you later then, Jaune!" And with those words and a motioning head tilt, the present members of Team RWBY began heading back off to the cafeteria.

Well, it took Yang a moment to actually pay attention to her surroundings and follow along, but she didn't get left behind. As they walked, almost in complete silence, the blonde couldn't stop the thoughts from continuing, either.

_Just like normal. _The words repeated.

_Because I upset that 'normal', didn't I?_


	7. Chapter 7: August 2nd Part III

**Chapter 7: The First Turn of the Page**

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**A/N: GUESS WHO'S BACK. AGAIN.**

**Oh my god, I am so sorry for leaving this for... nearly a month, exactly! XD Sometimes its hard to juggle fandoms, but eh. I won't be giving up on this story yet! Or RWBY, for that matter~!**

**I just wanted to quickly thank everybody who's reviewed, followed, and favourited this story. (I have over 50 followers! That's hella awesome!) I can't express my thanks enough! ;v;**

**But, enough of all that. You want a chapter, so here, have one. Enjoy. ^_^**

* * *

"So, this is what the cafeteria looks like..." Upon walking into the building, Yang had held onto those words, but only then, when the present members of Team RWBY sat gathered at one table, did she let them slip. Her head wouldn't stop changing directions, eyes flickering at her surroundings as she took in every detail possible. Needless to say, she was very fascinated by the large room. It looked more like a grand hall with tables filling the space, rather than a school's cafeteria.

"Yup. It's a really big place, isn't it?" Ruby answered, hands sitting on top of the wooden surface. Her sister merely nodded, wearing a small frown. Since the school day hadn't begun yet, and it certainly wasn't lunch, the cafeteria had a scarce amount of students filling it. Besides the girls at the table, there were probably only about 10 other people scattered about. "It's pretty quiet right now though, since the day hasn't started yet. It's usually brimming to the top with students."

"Students and rubbish, of course. The state of this place once everyone leaves is usually quite hideous." Weiss added, with a frustrated sigh. Yang could only imagine how packed a place like this could be. She'd only realised then, that she had no idea of how many students attended Beacon. However, the size of the cafeteria was quite enough to give her a rough idea.

"...that seems like a lot of people." she muttered, blinking. Finally seeming to take everything in, the blonde shuffled in her seat, facing the other two girls.

"Well, a lot of people do attend Beacon." the red head responded, with a smile. _'Big buildings, prestigious, and a lot of students... I really am lucky to attend a place like this.' _she noted, as her sister continued. "That's a loooot of bellies to feed!"

Before her stomach could even consider reminding Ruby of their reason for coming to the cafeteria in the first place, Yang drew a breath, staring down at her bare hands. "...could we... get some, then...? Some food, I mean..."

Within seconds, Ruby rose from her seat - and despite the opportunity to make a terrible pun, Yang did not - looking down at the others with a bright expression. "Sure, no problem at all! That's what we came here for anyway, I don't know why we didn't go and do that right away... oh, Weiss, are you hungry as well? I can get you guys something, since I'm good."

"Hm... no thank you. I'll eat later, when I have an appetite." the pale girl responded, shutting her eyes.

"Okay, I guess I'm just getting food for Yang, then." Turning towards said blonde, she raised her eyebrows. "So, is there anything you want in particular?"

The girl paused to think, remembering the instances she ate while being hospitalised. Since the food hadn't been all that appetising, nor particularly enjoyable, she could only draw a blank. She didn't have much of an idea of her food preferences - and though that thought brought about disappointment, the only thing she could do was dismiss it. "Not really, no..." was her honest response.

Ruby made sure to wave it off, nodding her head. "Alright, then I'll just get what I usually eat every morning. Hopefully, you still won't mind." And with those cheerful words hanging in the air, the youngest girl left the table, almost skipping away from the table. That left Weiss and Yang in silence, sitting together without anything to talk about.

Slowly peering her eyes open, the Schnee heiress sighed. She leaned on her left hand, while using her other to drum against the table in boredom. She could feel the worries and her fear beginning to eat away at her act, and almost drown the rest of her head away in thoughts.

Almost.

She thought it was pretty pathetic of her, but when her foot accidentally brushed against Yang's underneath the table, she was snapped from her trance. The contact just surprised her, nothing more, but it gave her an opportunity to throw away all the unnecessary thoughts she was having. Clearing her throat, she looked around the cafeteria before deciding to speak.

"So, Yang." The other girl's attention was quickly caught, glancing up from her lap to gaze at the white-haired girl. She blinked, sitting stiffly in her seat, without saying another word. _'Damn, I should have thought that one through.' _Weiss cursed, caught off-guard by the eye-contact. _'I don't have anything to say. Well, I'd better think quick then...' _

Yang tilted her head in curiosity, allowing her hair to nearly poke her eyes out as she waited. "What do you think of Beacon so far?" Weiss finally asked, feeling relieved after finding something reasonable to ask. She might have rejoiced a little early, though - she hadn't anticipated how hard it would be to keep up a conversation with an amnesic.

"Huh...? Oh, um..." the blonde began, pouting. "...it's really big, so... I guess I like it..." That was all the girl had to say.

Putting on a smile, Weiss raised an innocent eyebrow. "Is that so? That's good to hear then." she replied. It seemed they'd reached a dead end though, and the girl needed to think on her feet to keep the friendly atmosphere up. "Well... what... do you think of all of us, then?"

"All of... you?" Yang repeated, blinking as if she didn't quite understand the question.

"I'm sorry, is that question a little strange...?" Weiss felt a pang of regret at the surprised reaction she received. She didn't want to make the other feel any more uncomfortable than she assumed she was, especially by asking awkward questions.

Yang shook her head though, frown still present, though she seemed genuine. "No, it's okay... You all seem really nice anyway... friendly... helpful."

The other felt some relief, but she didn't quite know how to respond. "Are you sure none of this is overwhelming you at all...? It's fine to be exhausted, you know. We can return to our dorm whenever you want to."

"No... it's okay. Even if I'm supposed to know it already... I find it... fascinating to learn of everything." Hiding the disappointment that stirred inside of her at that comment, Weiss smiled.

"Well, you do have quite the amount to learn, so..."

"Yeah... a whole year's worth, right...?" She nodded, eyes averting from the blonde in case any signs of sadness showed in them.

"That's right..." she muttered. "Ah, but we know it'll all be okay. Everything will go back to normal eventually, I'm sure of it." And despite hardly believing those words herself, Weiss said them with a smile.

Yang blinked. She wasn't sure if she believed it either, but every particle in her body was hoping towards it. "Yeah..."

"Sorry, I'm a little late! Did I take too long?" Suddenly saving the two girls from a melancholic atmosphere, a familiar voice resounded through the cafeteria, bouncing off the high walls. Weiss didn't even need to turn around to recognise who's scratchy voice that was.

"No, Jaune. It's fine." With a roll of her eyes, Weiss sighed. His volume was unnecessary, but it couldn't be helped, it seemed. Within seconds, the blonde boy had approached the tableside, but only one other person had joined by his side. In Yang's eyes, it was one other stranger.

"Yeah, um, sorry about that... I couldn't find Nora or Ren anywhere, though. They must have gone out, somewhere... but, uh, I brought Pyrrha!" He seemed very delighted at his announcement, almost as if he'd expecting to find none of his teammates, initially. Pointing towards the girl with a thumb, the red head looked amongst the table with a small smile. She waved.

"Hello~" she greeted. Yang could only gaze up at the energetic pair in pure wonder, taking in their appearances and features in closer detail. She couldn't help noting the tough armour Pyrrha was wearing, and how combat-ready it made her seem. Just like the male beside her, she seemed friendly, though. If there was one stand-out feature that drew her in the most though, it was definitely the girl's captivating, green eyes. She couldn't take her eyes away from them for a while.

"Say, where's Ruby? I thought she was supposed to be with you guys." Jaune asked, taking a quick look around the cafeteria.

"She's getting food. We're waiting, so if you're not going to join her, then you can sit with us and wait." Weiss responded. Yang couldn't help feeling grateful for how little she was required to say. She couldn't imagine how difficult it would be for her, had she been forced to act casually around everyone.

The male glanced at his teammate first, asking for confirmation. "Well, eat or wait, what's the choice?"

She paused for a moment, before giving a small nod and motion towards the table. "It's still quite early. We'll be fine to wait for now, as long as you're not hungry or anything."

"Alright, then. Chilling with you guys, it is." Jaune announced with a smile. The JNPR duo was quick to join the other two girls, Jaune seizing the opportunity to sit next to Weiss, while Yang and Pyrrha sat across from them.

That was the last moment they shared in peace, before the atmosphere took a turn for the uncomfortable.

Knowing things were already quite awkward for the amnesic sitting across from here, Weiss cut right to the chase, and quit wasting time. The quicker they got into the matter, the quicker they would all get over it. Clearing her throat, her smile dissolved. "Say, Pyrrha, I know you're aware of... the news, so now that Yang's back at Beacon, why don't you... fill her in yourself?"

Time around the four of them seemed to pause. It wasn't like none of them saw it coming, though.

As the red head thought, she kept a straight face, trying her best to keep her emotions from leaking. Firmly, she nodded her head at the girl across from her. "...right. I believe that would be appropriate..."

See, Team JNPR had been well-informed of Yang's condition, but as the news came suddenly and so rushed, it wasn't a surprise that Jaune chose not to believe it. Now that the situation had been set though, and the proof was right in front of them, they had no other choice. They too, would have to come to terms with reality, and accept it just like Team RWBY.

Turning to face the blonde beside her, Pyrrha left a soft smile upon her lips. "Hello, again." she greeted, with her usual tone - though this time, it had such a different meaning to it. "I'm Pyrrha... Pyrrha Nikos. I'm simply part of Jaune's team, and a friend of your's. It's nice to see you, Yang."

Yang stared in awe as she listened to the other girl. Unlike the others, for some reason, Pyrrha didn't seem to be putting on much of an act. There wasn't disappointment, sadness, missing - the emotions she showed on the outside looked to be genuine. While she didn't seem overly happy or excited, her smile was proper, and it made the blonde feel a little comfortable.

Easing in her seat, she nodded her head slowly. "Nice to see you as well, Pyrrha..." she responded in a worn-out voice. She was glad that the smile from the other's face did not fade away or falter.

"I'm guessing you haven't met the other two members of our team yet, have you...?" She shook her head. "Well, that's okay. I'm sure, knowing them, they'll be here any minute, now. No need to worry."

Feeling nothing necessary to add on to that, Yang allowed the table to fall silent once more. The atmosphere wasn't as thick as the days had been previously, and had she been given the ability to, she would have sparked conversation once more. The problem was, she had no idea what to say, and was still scared that if she spoke again, those painful expressions would return.

Speaking of returning...

"Hey Yang, catch!" Before her footsteps could even be heard from the table, Ruby's voice called out to her sister, causing all four pairs of eyes in the group to aim towards her.

Mouth agape in shock, the blonde blinked in absolute confusion. She barely had time to react to the apple being thrown her way, hands fumbling about in front of her just in time for her to catch it. More than anyone else, Yang was the most surprised that she reacted as fast as she did, though. "Huh, not half bad, looks like you've still got it." Ruby congratulated, as she walked up to the tableside.

"H-Huh...?" The blonde was too confused to even speak, but she didn't need to. Weiss was quick to interrupt, allowing her emotions to fly from her in an instant.

_"Ruby! _What do you think you're doing, throwing food around like that?!" Her partner waved a hand in dismissal though.

"Calm down, it's fine!" Her rebuttals went defeated though, as Weiss continued, glaring at the red head.

"It's not _fine! _What if you hit someone? What if she dropped it?"

"...but she didn't drop it, did she?" Ruby kept on smiling like an innocent child, slowly causing the anger to fizzle out of her partner - at least, enough was drained from her for her to give up on scolding.

"What am I going to do with you...?" Weiss muttered, as she pressed a palm to her forehead, shaking her head in disappointment.

"Hey, at least I didn't throw the milk. That would have been a disaster, even I know that." she reasoned, placing said milk onto the table in front of Yang. The older sister just stared at the juice-box sized carton in silence.

_Milk?_

Something about it seemed a little familiar, but the memory was too far away to grasp. Waving off the sudden sense of déjà vu, Yang looked back down at her hands, taking a small bit of the apple before looking back amongst the group.

"So, now that everyone's here... wait, where's Blake?" Jaune asked. He seemed to notice that the girl was missing too slowly, and had Yang known the other better, it might have offended her. She was Blake's partner, and that was the most she knew, sadly enough. "Isn't she usually here with you guys...? Up early, and everything...?"

"Blake's still in bed. She's probably catching up on her sleep, or something like that." Ruby responded. "It's fine, though. She needs the rest, so she can come out when she's ready."

"Hm. Okay then." The boy said with a shrug of his shoulders, as Ruby sat down next to him.

Yang continued crunching away on her apple as the group around them conversed, mostly staying silent since she was eating. She didn't want to say anything anyway, but she couldn't help feeling grateful that she was the only one eating, and could use that as an excuse.

_'I'm learning a lot today, huh...?"_

She couldn't help wondering to herself at times, though.

_'Hmm... I wonder if Blake's okay...'_

. . .

The group of four had well lost track of time by the time Yang realised that her thoughts had taken over, and she was paying more attention to them than the conversation around her. The blonde had assumed half an hour or so had passed when the realisation came to her. Apparently, she didn't seem to have a very long attention span - either that, or the worries gnawing at the back of her mind were finally beginning to take a toll.

"I mean, I hadn't seen Neptune and all that for a while, so it was surprising, you know?" Jaune's voice continued, serving as nothing but background noise to the amnesic currently spacing out. Smiles were still present all over the table as they continued to talk and talk.

"Really? Now that you mention it, neither have I. I'm sure they'll drop in again sometime soon, though. No doubt about it." Ruby responded, nodding along with the other blonde. Not only did Yang have no idea who this Neptune person was, but she was hardly interested in the topic of choice, anyway. Seeing no point in staying, the girl finally took action.

Without a word of warning to the rest of the group, Yang pressed her palms to the table, shooting up from her seat in a matter of seconds. She paid no mind to the three pairs of surprised looks, shuffling out from beneath the table to stand beside the group of friends.

"Yang? What are you doing? Wait, where are you going...?" Ruby was the first to speak up, concern leaking onto her face and through her tone. She couldn't help being overly worried for her sister, and no matter how much she tried to suppress it and conceal it, it wasn't hard to see.

Head turning to look at her sister, she blinked her eyes, staring back with a small frown. She looked like a puzzled dog, staring as if Ruby had asked the most obvious question in the world. "I'm just... going back to the dorm room for a bit. I'll be right back. Hopefully, that's alright..." she explained. The other girl seemed to ease in her seat, though she still had an eyebrow raised.

"Of course that's fine, you just surprised me... oh! Um, do you know where it is and how to get there...? I can accompany you." she offered, though the blonde shook her head.

"I'm... pretty sure I remember the way. It's fine... it's not that far." Despite the truth in her words, the worry inside Ruby kept telling her otherwise, bringing up situations that might happen if Yang went alone. Since she paid so much attention to the images in her head, she didn't realise how clearly the emotion was showing on her face.

Tugging on her sleeve to snap her out of her trance was her partner, Weiss, putting on a small smile. "She'll be fine, Ruby. She's still a mature girl, amnesia or not." she spoke, in a strangely soft tone, which made the other's heart flutter. With an understanding, grateful nod, she let out a breath, relaxing.

At that, Weiss turned to face the blonde beside her, who was casually watching over the group. "Take longer than 10 minutes, and we'll probably search for you. Don't take any longer, okay? Oh, and just so you know, our room number is 7, in the eastern hallway." she assured.

"Okay, sure... 7, east... 10 minutes... Got it." And with those words, Yang finally turned from the group, wearing a neutral expression as she exited the cafeteria.

A rush of warm air reached the girl as soon as she stepped out of the twin doors, as she surveyed the outside area. She stood on the grey concrete with firm feet, still frowning as she recalled the exact path the group had taken on their way there. _'If I remember correctly... then, I'll have to walk up that way, pass a few buildings, and I'll be there. Not too hard, I think. Shouldn't be hard. The only hard part is going to be identifying our dorm room, from the rest...' _

Shoulders dropping by her sides at that thought, the girl shook her head. She could handle all that when she got to the dormitories, when it actually mattered. Focusing on her present situation, she took a step, and began retracing the path she had walked along minutes ago. There wasn't one point in her journey where she stopped to consider how strange it was to remember the way so clearly.

But, soon enough, her memory proved to be quite accurate, and she found herself standing in the hallway of the dormitories. She recognised the red carpet beneath her, and the thin corridors, lined with white doors that looked identical. Above all of them was a white plate with a different number labelling them, making this the only feature to tell the rooms apart.

"7... right, room 7. I got this." Yang thought out loud, starting to feel quite proud of herself for remembering the details and making it this far. There wasn't any time to stop though, and as she continued through the empty corridor, she looked left and right, scanning the numbers above each door. "14, 13, 12, 11..." she called out, before finally stumbling upon her destination.

"Room 7... bingo." An amused huff of air left her mouth, at the vocabulary she was using, finding it funny how the words rolled off her tongue so smoothly. With a shake of her head though, the emotion vanished, a harsh seriousness taking over instead.

_'I'm guessing... Blake's still inside. I just have to... knock, then.' _And so, she simply did, knocking against the door three solid times. For a moment, her stomach stirred in worry, as she didn't receive a response. The delay between her knocking and the voice inside the room didn't help much.

"Who is it...?" Strangely enough, the female voice didn't sound as tired as Yang expected. It was different from how breathy it sounded earlier. It had more power behind it, more tone. She'd assumed her partner was still in bed, but from the sound of things, she'd been up for a while now.

"It's... Yang." The blonde couldn't help scolding herself for taking a moment to say the words. She'd known her name for a while now, there was no need to be so hesitant. Thankfully, the other didn't seem to mind.

"...door's unlocked, then."

Heaving a sigh, the amnesic wasted no time and pushed the door open, making sure to shut it behind her once she'd entered the room. Everything was exactly the same as when she'd left earlier that morning - desks still clean, corners filled with boxes and bags, and the bookshelves were neat and tidy. The only difference was that Blake was now sitting at one of the brown desks to her left, holding a hard-cover book open.

"Where's everyone else?" the black-haired girl asked, not bothering to lift her eyes from the open page before her. Yang didn't mind, assuming reading was something her partner enjoyed, and brushing it off.

"Still at the cafeteria. I just needed to... drop in, for something."

"Drop in for something?"

"Yeah... it's nothing... nothing really important." the blonde brushed off. As she spoke, she walked around the room, coming to a stand-still between the two bunk beds. She faced her own bed, looking up at the mattress being held in the air with a slight dread in her eyes.

"If you say so." Blake brushed off, remaining silent, as she returned to her book. She still didn't bother looking over at the blonde across the room, too busy distracting herself in her story to care about anything else.

Yang just stared at the bunk, completely lost. She needed to climb back up there, somehow, safely, again. She'd done it once before, sure, but that didn't mean it was any more enjoyable the second time. _'I really have to sleep up there, every night...?' _Though she didn't question it out loud, she knew what the response would be anyway.

With a sigh, the girl looked around, eyes stopping once they noticed the sturdy bookshelf in front of her. It was small enough to step onto, looked firm enough to hold her weight (even though she didn't know how much she really weighed), and seemed tall enough to give her an extra push. Humming in thought, she pouted, pondering on her theory. _'If I can use that to get myself higher and somehow pull myself onto my bed, then... that could work, too.' _

Once the silence in the room started to get under the girl's skin, Yang called it was time for action. Letting out a sigh in preparation, she pressed her lips together, body tensing. _'Here goes nothing.' _

And with that thought in her mind, she stepped onto the bookshelf, feeling relief when it didn't crumble underneath her. It didn't even creak in the slightest, and that reassured her enough to continue.

Looking up at the bed, which was just below her head by now, she reached out towards the mattress. Then, pushing herself up with her legs, she flung herself over the edge of the bed, landing on the soft material just as planned. _'Well. That was... strangely enough, easier than I thought.' _she admitted, staring up at the ceiling as as lay on the bed. _'Now... what did I come here for...? Oh, yeah. Right...'_

As she reminded herself of her goal inside the room, she slowly pulled herself up, sitting upright on the bed. She pivoted around to face the pillow, staring down at it with dull eyes - though it wasn't the pillow that had her attention. Hands reaching beneath it, she pulled out her diary and pen, immediately flicking through the pages.

For a moment, the room was filled with nothing but the noise of pages turning, but that atmosphere was destroyed when Yang opened her mouth.

"Gotcha... alright, now, what's happened so far...?" she spoke to herself, seeming not to care for the other set of ears listening to her. Or rather, two sets of ears, but Yang wasn't aware of that yet, nor was Blake ready to tell her.

Grabbing a hold of her pen, the blonde began to scribble down the details of what had happened so far, just so she wouldn't forget again.

* * *

**Day 7: 2nd of August**

Alright, a lot has happened this morning, so I'm going to try to make it short and sweet.

I finally met Jaune today, and despite my terrible screw-up upon first seeing him, I'd say we're getting along fine. Oh, as well as Pyrrha. I think that's how you spell it...? Yeah, that feels right. They seem like nice people, and they don't mind my quietness, so... I think it'll be alright.

I don't know why, but I feel like... like I should put an effort into acting the way I used to. Obviously, I don't know the details of that, only what my team members have described to me, but I should try... I should try, for everyone else. That way, it'll be easier for them to adjust. It will be like nothing has changed.

Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. I'm really gonna try my hardest to smile from here on out... I can do this... I think.

* * *

With a satisfied sigh, Yang shut her diary with a thump, hooking her pen in it's spine and tucking it away for later usage. She considered bringing it with her for a moment, but since that meant dragging it around everywhere without a bag, the idea was dismissed as soon as it came.

Face wearing a frown, the blonde slowly looked back over the edge of the bed. The feeling of dread that came with the site was nowhere near as intense as earlier that morning, but it was still present. It was still enough to cause her discomfort. _'...I really do hate this.' _But since there was no other way to go about it, and she certainly couldn't spend the rest of the day on her bed, she swallowed and prepared herself.

Taking a shorter delay this time, the blonde followed the same steps she did before, safely landing on the ground once more. Now that she thought about it, the movement wasn't that hard to pull off at all. It was just the mental preparation that took some time - though that was something she was going to have to work on, and get used to.

The girl looked around the room first, before settling her eyes on the other student. She was still reading in complete silence, legs folded over one another. Blake looked so peaceful somehow, just sitting in that chair, on her own.

Still, curiosity continued stabbing holes in her logic and filter, and she found herself approaching the other, standing behind her chair. She quickly scanned the pages and words over the faunas' shoulder, blinking. "...so you like reading?" she questioned, voice light and harmless. Blake couldn't help but feel annoyed that she was being interrupted, but at the same time, she couldn't blame the other for asking. She dropped her anger with a sigh, straightening up in her seat.

"Yes... I guess you could say, it's a hobby of mine." she explained, eyes never once lifting from the page, despite her not taking any words in. It was hard to read and speak at the same time, though she'd found that out long ago.

"Huh. Okay then..." Yang responded, finding no other words to say. She wanted to have a conversation with the other, but if she was busy and she herself couldn't find anything to say, that idea seemed unachievable. It was strange to think that during any other part of the day, her head would be brimming to the top with countless questions, and yet as she stood there behind her own partner, there were no such questions to be found.

Her eyes nearly lit up when Blake continued talking though, solving her problem. "Oh, and, for future reference... If I'm ever missing, and you want to know where I am, I'm most likely in the library."

Letting a small smile take over her face, the blonde shook her head. "Somehow... I'm not surprised." she spoke.

"I don't know why it ever would be." And like that, the pair were left in silence again. Blake continued to read, and Yang just stood there behind her, watching over the pages as the girl occasionally lifted a hand to turn them. After a page of silence later, a question finally popped into her head, and Yang took the opportunity to ask.

"So... hopefully you don't mind me asking, but what's this book about...?" She'd read over a few words and sentences on the page, even though she had no idea what was going on, or what the plot of the story was, so she figured it was an ideal question to ask.

"Huh? Oh, um..." Somehow, the girl seemed caught off-guard by the question. Though she seemed more unnerved than Yang assumed was appropriate, she continued speaking. "The main character's a guy, with two souls. They both basically fight for control over his body, and whatnot..."

But as Blake spoke, Yang found herself staring into space, eyes wide.

_...huh?_

She could feel her chest thumping in recognition. She could see an image, blurry, cut into pieces, but still forming in her mind as the words reached her ears.

_...what's up with this feeling?_

She knew, immediately, that it felt familiar. Something about those words, what Blake was saying, seemed all too familiar to be a coincidence.

_...why does this seem so... familiar, somehow? _

The image of her partner flashed in her mind, holding that same book, and for some reason, the only other thing that popped into her mind was the sight of a candle, illuminating the darkness around the scene.

_...what is this?_

But, within seconds it all faded, and her mind was empty once more.

"Yang...? Are you listening?" The other girl's words went through one ear and out the other. She showed no signs of even hearing her voice as Yang blinked, over and over, eyebrows furrowing together.

She didn't even have time to think, as the words slipped from her mouth, body stuck in a strange daze.

"...haven't you read that book before, already?"

"...huh?"

Yang wasn't sure if she'd said the right thing, or if Blake's surprise surpassed her own. The only thing she was certain of was that, what she'd seen in her mind, what that feeling had reacted to was a memory.

A memory that was just out of reach.

Everything from there seemed to pause. It all happened so slowly, since neither of them could believe what just happened. Even Blake had stopped taking in the words of the pages before her, eyes wide and body completely motionless.

"What did you... how did you..." The black-haired girl couldn't even find the words at first, too far at a loss to gather herself. The minute of silence that flew by them was enough for her to shape up her thoughts somehow though, and with a hesitant voice, she found the will to continue. "...how did you... know that?"

The worst part was, Yang wasn't sure of how to respond. She wasn't about to lie of course, but saying the truth felt a little too blunt. She wasn't sure of what to do.

"...I-I don't know." she stuttered, taking a step back from the chair as she glanced away. "It just... it came to me all of a sudden, that's all..." The more she tried to explain herself, the worse it began to sound, and she soon shut her mouth. She wasn't sure what the other was going to think, or if she was going to believe her at all.

Then again, what reason would she have to doubt her? Yang, without a doubt, had amnesia, so if anything, Blake had a reason to be grateful. If she didn't believe in this sudden memory recollection, then that would mean denying the hope she had, that everything would get better. That would mean denying the possibility that Yang would regain every memory she ever earned.

And that was the last thing she wanted to do.

"It... came to you... huh...?" she repeated, unsure of her words. She didn't know how to feel at that point, as the confusion was still present in her mind. Everything was coming together slowly, though, and piece by piece, she collected herself again. "What... came to you, exactly?" she asked. Then, she slowly shut her book, leaving her ribbon bookmark in the page she was up to. She turned around in her chair to face Yang as she spoke back, never taking her eyes off of her partner.

"Well, I-I..." she began, eyes darting between Blake and the walls around her. Her hand was fumbling at the back of her neck as she stood nervously in the same spot, frowning. "...I just... what you said felt familiar, somehow. Like you've said it before... and... ugh, I don't know. It just feels like there was a time when I saw you reading that book, and you explained it to me, or something... there was something to do with a candle... but... I have no idea what I'm talking about anymore."

"The day we met."

"_...huh?"_

"That, what you're talking about. It's... the day we first met." Blake explained. She could feel herself retracing the exact day, going through what transpired as best she could. Eyelids fluttering over her eyes, she took a deep breath. "On our first day here, at Beacon Academy... on our first night, actually. You dragged Ruby over to me, and since I was reading, we talked about the book I had. It was dark, so I kept a candle nearby. That's... probably what came into your head, right...?"

Though she seemed so unsure of herself, Yang couldn't help feeling the opposite. With the way the other explained it, she could just imagine the situation in her head. Although the only thing in her head was a mere image - a blurred and distant one, at that - she was sure it felt familiar. It was coming closer. The memory was clearing up.

"Somehow... I think that'd be right... but I really can't remember the details... sorry." she admitted. Her arm fell beside her, and she gazed to the floor. She couldn't help feeling more than a little guilty for saying it, though - she must have gotten the other's hopes up, by going on about her memory.

"...what are you talking about?" Blake's suddenly firm tone shocked the other out of her apologetic state, head flicking up to meet the faunas' gaze. "Don't... be sorry." Yang could still see the disappointment in her eyes. "It's fine." Yang didn't know if she could believe those words. "You're getting somewhere. Taking this one step at a time... and that's all we need."

Blake rose from her chair, tucking it in and leaving her book behind on the desk, as she continued. "Besides, if you're beginning to at least feel familiar with that much..." The girl walked towards the door leading out of the room, opening it, before glancing over her shoulder.

No more disappointment. No more sadness.

Blake wore a smile.

"...then that means we're closer to getting all of your memories back, too."

Yang could only stare, feeling her heart thump faster than ever before.

"Now, let's head to the cafeteria. We should probably meet up with the others."

"Right...!"

* * *

**A/N: Woohoo! Story progress! :D**

**Don't forget to leave any feedback or thoughts on this. That would be greatly appreciated. ^_^**

**I promise I'll try not to leave this for another month again, haha! In the meantime, I'll see you in the next one~!**


	8. Chapter 8: August 2nd Continues Part I

**Chapter 8: Cafeteria Catastrophe **

Wearing a clumsy smile, Yang walked alongside her partner and through the twin doors of the cafeteria, feeling the cold rush of air hit her face once more. The warmth outside was much more favourable, she had to admit, but it couldn't be helped.

The duo only took a few moments to locate where their table of friends were. Due to their amazing volume, and their bright clothes, the familiar faces of those they knew stood out amongst the rest of the bland cafeteria. As they approached the group once more, Yang habitually looked around, and couldn't help noticing the increased amount of students that were now present. _'Must be something to do with the time. More people come here when it's later in the morning... I guess.' _she assumed, with a shrug.

"Ah, Yang, you're back!" Her sister greeted, waving a hand with a brightly lit face. "Oh, and good morning, Blake! It's nice to see you."

While the amnesic admired the cheerful atmosphere, she ran her eyes over the people present at the table. _'Yup, there are one, two, three... wait, huh?' _She paused. _'...six people?' _She felt bad for taking so long to notice, but once she had counted the people sitting at the table, her eyes were blinking in confusion.

"...huh?" The word unconsciously came from her mouth. _'Who are those people? Huh? What...?' _But before she could even finish thinking to herself, Ruby's observational skills made a debut.

"Oh, that's right. You're wondering about those two, aren't you, sis?" she pointed out. Though suddenly feeling pressured and in the spotlight, she nervously nodded her head, not wanting to say anything more. The younger girl's smile widened as she waved her hand in dismissal. "They're the other two members of Jaune's team. I think they can do the introductions themselves, though."

Giving a motioning glance their way was enough for Ren and Nora to get the idea, nodding their heads. Soon enough, both the black-haired male and the bubbly female were looking up at Yang with friendly smiles. _'They don't... seem to be all that worried, either.' _Yang noted, with a frown. _'Either they've had the time to accept it, or... we weren't that close...'_

"Hello, Yang~! I know this is a little weird, but here we go. _I'm _Nora, and this here is Ren!" the girl introduced - more like, announced.

"Hello." the boy added, with a firm nod. The blonde couldn't help noting how deep his voice was for a teenager, and compared to Jaune, not that there was a problem with it.

"It won't take you long to realise if I don't tell you, but I'm going to tell you that I really like pancakes, anyway!" she continued. As if she wasn't confused enough already, Nora's comment only added on top of the emotion Yang felt. She raised an eyebrow, not quite sure of what to say in response.

"Um... okay. Nice to meet you both, I guess..." she muttered, hands scratching at the back of her head. The happiness of Nora never seemed to end, apparently. She didn't seem shaken in the slightest, and just like that, her eyes were back on the group around her.

"Why don't you take a seat? Class doesn't start until another hour, but I've heard you don't need to attend today, anyway." Ren offered, motioning with his hand towards the empty seats. Yang gave a glance at Blake, who didn't return it, before looking back. Since her partner was already making her way towards the table, she figured there was no point in refusing.

Taking a seat next to the boy and across from her partner, Yang let out a sigh. Today was going to be a long day, and that was something she definitely felt.

. . .

It was at around 8:45, fifteen minutes before class began, that something strange caught Yang's interest. The group of eight now, were still sitting in the cafeteria, happily chatting amongst themselves. Even the blonde girl had spoken up on a few occasions, taking the opportunity to learn as much as possible and get a feel for the normal interaction between everyone while she could. However, just as she began to get lost in her own thoughts again, the voices of a particularly loud group of people burst into the cafeteria.

The first thing that reached Yang's ears was the sound of a male's snickering, completely contrasting with a female's wailing.

Even the amnesic knew that something was wrong with that situation, and it had only just begun.

Almost busting down the doors of the cafeteria was a group consisting of four males and one lone female. From where RWBY and JNPR sat, it was very clear to see exactly what was going on - all of the guys were laughing, smirking, messing around with the brunette they dragged along by the hair, disrupting the entire room.

"Let me go...!" The girl cried, body jerking along with the hands of one of the boys. Yang could see his cleanly cut, light brown hair, and his smug expression. What she didn't see though was her own narrowed eyes, beginning to show signs of annoyance.

"Sorry, can't _heeaar yoouu, _little miss! You might have to speak up, and stop talking like we have a gigantic pair of ears as well, hah!" were the harsh words to come from his mouth, as he made his way down the aisles and past rows of tables. Despite the maturity coming from the girl's voice, the male was clearly teasing her.

"Of all the people to run into today, and it had to be Cardin..." The quiet words of her sister caught Yang's attention, and in an instant, her eyes darted towards the other girl. She was busy squeezing her fists together, glancing over her shoulder to glare at the noisy group.

"Unbelieveable. He _still _hasn't learnt his lesson..." Blake muttered. Even Yang could sense the utter frustration and venom in her tone - something which, though it didn't intimidate the other, it did come off as a surprise.

As the blonde gazed around the group though, she came to realise they were all wearing the same kind of agitated expression. They all seemed fed up of this kind of situation, and all looked like they wanted to slice that brunette guy's head off clean, which was something she couldn't blame them for.

Still, she hated sitting in the dark, and opened her mouth to speak. "...so... who's that, exactly...?" she questioned, with a nervous laugh. She really didn't want to know of such an ill-mannered person, but it couldn't be helped.

"Who's _that, _you ask?" Weiss repeated in an all too disappointed tone, seeming stricter than normal. Yang didn't even bother to nod, waiting for the response to come with a feeling of dread in her stomach.

_"That _piece of scum over there is Cardin Winchester. Cardin, and the rest of his filthy team." Blake explained, looking like she could explode at any minute now. To be honest, the blonde barely heard her speak over the top of the shouting and laughing caused by Cardin in the background, but she managed to catch most of it.

"Cardin... Winchester?" she repeated, getting used to the way his name sounded. "I'm... guessing he does stuff like that all the time?"

"If, by 'stuff like that', you mean awfully disrespect and bully every person he meets and speaks to, then yes. That would be exactly right." Pyrrha added, eyes glaring his way. That look of absolute hatred in someone she'd only seen smile was something that was definitely unsettling to Yang, although, it did help her understand just how awful a person he was. If he could make someone like Pyrrha wear that kind of expression, he must really be talented at pushing people's buttons - a terrible talent to have, really.

"S-Seriously, that hurts...! Cut it out...!" The brunette girl shouted, in between sharp cries of pain.

"Cut it _out? _What do you want me to cut? Your ears? 'Coz sure, I can do that for you." was Cardin's quick reply, earning more amusement for him and his team.

Only at that comment, did Yang finally take in the real reason as to why Cardin was bullying the other girl.

_Ears. She has rabbit ears. _

Her lilac eyes widened at the sight, and she immediately wondered why it took her so long to notice. Now that she took in the detail, they visually made a very big difference to her appearance. _'A... a faunas, huh?' _she repeated in her head. Although she had no memory of how she came to learn of that term, or the history behind it, Yang knew of what they were. _'Humans who are part animal, like another species... they're usually seen as inferior, so... I can only assume that's what's going on over there.'_

With the more she thought about it though, the less sense it seemed to make to the blonde girl. _'Sure, they're not entirely human, but... does it seriously make that much difference?' _She knew her questions wouldn't be answered, but she still couldn't stop herself from thinking up more. _'It might make an appearance-wise difference, but underneath... it shouldn't change who someone is, right? I don't get why people would make such a big fuss of it... I don't see why they would start a revolution over it either, but I guess I'm definitely not going to get an answer for that.'_

And, at that moment, she decided that she supported the faunas.

"Hey... shouldn't someone go over there and stop him, or something...?" she found herself asking, acting on impulse and instinct, rather than anything else.

"As much as we all would love to, I'm afraid that if any of us stepped in, it would end in more than a few injuries to him, and a suspension for us." Pyrrha filled in. "Give him a few minutes, and I'm sure someone else is bound ot take care of it."

Although Yang could see the line of reasoning she had, and she was sure the rest of the group knew by now how to deal with such events, she couldn't find herself settling on the idea of letting it go on. It just didn't seem... right. She knew she wouldn't forgive herself if she just sat around while someone else was being tormented.

"Just... let it go, Yang. Soon enough, it'll all be over." Ruby assured, being the first one to force on a gentle smile. While she didn't doubt it's truthfulness, Yang found one more question on her mind though - one that she couldn't hold back.

"Um, one more question, though..." she began, glancing up at the noisy group, before looking back to her sister. "What's the name of that girl, over there?"

"That's Velvet... she's a year above all of us, and she's like an acquaintance of our's." the red head spoke, clearly mustering all of her will to keep that smile plastered across her face. The other nodded her head, though the unease in her stomach swirled more intensely.

_'If she's our acquaintance, and not some complete stranger, then doesn't that give us more reason to intervene...?' _But with a sigh, she knew what the answer was going to be, and sunk into her seat. "Alright." she brushed off, ending the conversation once and for all.

The table fell silent for a few moments after that. Yang could understand that it was probably because they all needed time to cool down, or something similar to that. They needed to take their minds of what was annoying them, and since she didn't fully understand yet, the blonde didn't interrupt. She could only wait, watching the scene continue to unfold, until conversation was started back up again.

"Say, now that I think about it, do you guys have any missions coming up...?" Ruby's voice suddenly pierced the atmosphere, gaining the attention of the leader of the other team present.

"Huh? Uh, oh, us?" Jaune stammered, nerves showing on all of his features. She nodded her head.

"Well, duh, silly! Who else would I be asking, my own team?" she joked, with a snort. It wasn't the first time Yang had heard one from her sibling; she was aware that it was something she often did when giggling or laughing, and paid it no mind.

"Oh, right... well, our agenda's actually pretty empty. We haven't been assigned anything, haven't applied for anything, you know. We're taking it easy for a bit." And just like that, the table's atmosphere began to ease, and the group erupted into conversation once more.

But, even when minutes passed of friendly chatter, Yang still couldn't understand why everyone had brushed off Cardin's behaviour so quickly. The scene was still continuing beneath everyone's talk, though no one was batting an eye his way. No one seemed annoyed anymore, or even aware that the situation was ongoing.

The longer the blonde watched the scene from afar, the more and more angry she could feel herself getting. She wanted to do something, she wanted it to stop, she didn't want to sit around and do nothing. She didn't want to be sitting at a distance watching, wishing for something to happen, she wanted to take action and make that change - especially if no one else was going to.

Despite that though, there was an underlying fear in her heart. Obviously, Cardin attended Beacon as well, so he was bound to be a powerful fighter. He could possibly have been just as strong as her own team, or Team JNPR, but she wouldn't know it. She couldn't fight anyone yet, as she'd been long out of practise - she barely even knew how to use her own weapons - so approaching someone like that on a whim didn't seem like the smartest plan of action.

_'Maybe I should listen to everyone else. I should just drop it... I mean, I could get really hurt, after all. That and, I could end up... you know, making a fool of myself, and saying the wrong things... or this all could escalate, and turn into some really big issue.' _she began to wonder, thoughts straying further and further. _'The problem is, I really don't know what to expect... I don't know anything about those people, save for their names...' _She sighed. _'This really is difficult to put up with...'_

In her opinion though, she'd been waiting for quite the while, and nothing had changed at all. If anything, things seemed to be getting worse for Velvet. She was on the verge of tears already, fed up and not bothering to hold back any words of rejection or insult, though every sentence bounced right back off of the boys surrounding her. They just continued laughing, selfishly finding amusement in her pain.

And Yang definitely knew that she was not going to just let _that _slide.

Feeling a sudden flame of anger, of energy ignite inside of her chest, she frantically looked around the table. _'Alright, I've gotta think this through, what am I going to do?' _Yang was smart enough to know that just storming over there with an attitude and lecture Cardin wasn't going to end well, or be effective. She needed something else first, something like a punishment.

_'I can't punch him, despite how much he seems to deserve it.' _She thought, feeling disappointed. It wasn't enough to extinguish the spreading emotions in her body, though. _'Maybe... if I had some sort of projectile... something to throw... something small, or something...'_

And as her thoughts wandered, she finally came to an answer.

Face lighting up, the blonde could only contain her excitement at her plan, as she turned to face her sister across the table. Using a quiet voice, as to not interrupt the conversation completely, she cleared her throat. "Say, um, sis...?" she began, looking left and right. "Do you, maybe have... a few coins, or something spare...?"

Though confused by the strange request, the younger girl hummed in thought, looking down at her clothes before responding. "I might... just give me a second." Yang nodded her head as she watched the other begin filing through her pockets - every single pockets she had, in search of a few coins.

The amnesic's eyes sparkled almost as much as the silver she saw gleaming in Ruby's hands, as soon as she held them out to her. "Just your luck! Here." she offered with a smile. Tipping them into Yang's hands, the blonde muttered a small thanks, before lifting up one coin from the pile.

_'They're lighter than I thought.' _she noted. _'Perfect.' _

"What do you need them for anyway, sis?" Ruby asked, seeming slow to pick up on the suddenness of the request. Her sister was prepared for once though, and merely looked around the cafeteria. "Oh, right! The, uh, vending machines are over there, by the way. I'm sure you'll have some Lien spare if you buy something." But before she could open her mouth to explain, Ruby interrupted.

Yang understood the other's words with a nod of her head. She soon stood up from her seat as she gave a smile of her own, and luckily enough, this time, no one stared at her as she left the group, retreating towards the back of the cafeteria and the row of vending machines.

As she came closer to the machine, her innocent smile turned into a neutral frown, feelings of nothingness replacing that of happiness. Her eyes were quick to scan over the machine before she inserted a few coins into the slot available, letting a can of soft drink fall into the compartment below. _'Meh. Soft drink in the morning isn't the best thing, but... it's the only thing this machine's got...' _

The girl was quick to pick up the can, arm shivering upon coming into contact with its chilled surface. Keeping the spare coins in her pocket, she finally cracked open the tab of the can.

With the drink pressed up to her lips, she slowly made her way back to the table, sitting back down as if she hadn't left in the first place. Yang had almost forgot about the spare coins, and took a moment to realise that they were still in her pocket. She placed the drink onto the table and dug into her pockets to retrieve them again though, handing them back to her sister. "Thanks, again..." she muttered, voice low as per usual.

"No problem, sis."

Yang had to hold back a chuckle. Ruby hadn't suspected a thing, or cast any suspicion towards her, so thing seemed to be going quite well. All that was left was for her to finish her drink, and put her left over trash to good use.

By the time the soft drink can had only a few drops remaining inside, Yang's chest was already tight and bound by frustration. As she sat in silence, she had been watching over Cardin and his behaviour, using the scene from afar as motivation. The longer she took to finish her drink, the longer he would continue mistreating another student, of course.

Finally glancing down at the empty can in her hands, the blonde wore a triumphant smile. It was rare, for her to do such a thing upon instinct, but she didn't pay it much attention. As much as her entire body and will screamed against it, she held back on acting immediately. She needed to find the exact moment, the perfect second of when to act.

And so, while she waited, she gripped the can in her hands, holding each end within her palms. Without speaking a single word, instead leaving it inside her head, she began to count herself down, eyes still staring down at the can.

_'3. 2. 1...'_

In an instant, she pressed her hands together, crushing the can to a mere pulp as it screamed and bend under her grasp. It wasn't clear why, but Yang felt delighted at the display of what strength she had. Last time she checked, cans weren't supposed to be crushed so easily between people's hands - and with the more she thought about it, the less strained her arms seemed to become. _'That... actually wasn't that hard.' _

What she didn't realise at first though, was that in doing so, she had received quite the number of glances her way. Once she finally looked up from the crushed metal in her hands, she froze, blinking and staring back at the looks of confusion aimed her way.

"Yang, was that really necessary?" It was her partner Blake, who spoke up first, being the only person to hold a lingering gaze on her. As soon as the words were said, most of the others - like Nora, and Weiss - had already turned away, thankfully enough.

Feeling her chest tighten, Yang struggled for words, tilting her head to the side as she thought. "...was there... something wrong with me doing that?" she slowly began, speaking whatever came to mind. "Um, sorry. It does take up less space in the trash..." Though immediately after she said them, she regretted it, deciding it sounded a little ridiculous.

The other just shrugged, rolling her eyes, though still wearing a frown. For a moment, the blonde worried if she had really done something wrong. "Whatever. You do have a point." she spoke, though at those words, the other eased.

She didn't have anything else to add, and, just as Blake looked away, she let out a sigh. The attention had been averted from her again, which was always good news to hear. The relief in her chest didn't last long though, as she was quick to gain sight of Velvet and Cardin again. She narrowed her eyes, feeling the annoyance stab at her once more.

_'I can't afford to wait any longer...' _she repeated to herself, unconsciously gripping the can with more force. The pain that began to ache in her tightened hand was the only thing that told of her of this action, and, blinking with a stunned face, she was quick to loosen her arm once again.

Her determination remained the same though, and with her eyes still glued on her target standing a distance away, she let out a deep breath. _'I can do this, right...? Yeah... yeah, I think I can do this.' _It wasn't the most assuring motivation, but it still kept her from worrying about the consequences of her actions, at least. That was enough to keep her from backing down.

The blonde shot a few glances at the rest of the table, making sure no one was looking her way, as she finally began to put her plan into action. Firmly keeping her eyes on her target, she held onto the squished can with one hand. Extending her arm just above her head, she steadied herself, keeping her breathing low and balance. She wouldn't want any disturbance to throw her off, or mess up her aim. If she hit someone else with this projectile, things could end terribly.

But, with the longer she held her arm in place, the shallower her breaths grew, and eventually she came to hold it entirely. It wasn't that she was being more cautious about it - her body merely acted subconsciously.

As her patience would have it though, soon enough, her eyes snapped open. _'A perfect opening.' _As soon as the words ran through her head, the restriction on Yang's body was released.

With one swift movement of her arm, the can was catapulted through the air, and sent flying straight towards Cardin's thick head. It barely missed the tip of Velvet's ears as it flew by - something that, while watching it's movements, Yang's heart skipped a beat at - though in the end, successfully collided with his forehead.

_Klunk._

The can made a pitiful noise as it bounced from his head, and landed on the ground. The blonde felt a smile pressing onto her face, triumph starting to form at her success. She hadn't failed. She actually did something right - well, whether the plan she was smart or not was a different matter. She'd executed it perfectly, and that was all that mattered.

It took her a moment to realise that, every single pair of eyes at the table was staring in disbelief, right at her. Once she turned to face the others, she didn't expect to be put in the spotlight, or even faced with such shocked looks. Panic began to flood her, and fear that she had done something wrong. "...w-what?" was the only thing she could muster up.

Meanwhile, the boy's laughter had immediately ceased, and now, quite closely resembled a furious dragon. He growled under his breath, hands letting go of the grip on the brunette's hair. Instead, his eyes glared right at the can on the floor. He wasted no time in picking it up, and looking up at the rest of the cafeteria - definitely not one happy Cardin.

_"Who _was the smart guy that chose to throw this?" he demanded as he held the can beside him, glancing at it in disgust. He was quick to toss it over his shoulder though, body flaming in annoyance as the can was sent flying once more. It landed on the ground with another rattle. "Seriously. If you're going to be cowardly enough to pull a stunt like _that, _and not own up to it, I swear..."

His threats went through one ear and out the other. Yang's concern was directed at the group around her, and all of the wide eyes she was getting. "...sis, are you _crazy?" _Ruby whispered from across the table, though still in an outraged tone. "What were you thinking?"

"...you said to give it a few minutes, and someone would do something, so... I became that someone...?" she whispered back, wearing a very nervous smile. Suddenly, she was coming to regret her actions, seeing as she was gaining a lack of support.

"I'm afraid this isn't going to end very well..." Pyrrha whispered back, matching the quiet tone with her eyes directed at the raging boy in the centre of the room. He was continuing to spout nonsense and insults, trying to fish out the culprit.

_"I want to know, dammit! _Man up, and stand up!" he called. The blonde was running out of time. If she didn't own up to it soon, then...

"Yang, don't do it...!" she heard her sister urge - but, she was already a split second too late.

Having released all final doubts in her mind with one final sigh, Yang rose from her seat. She could feel everybody's gazes on her, though kept her own dull eyes directed towards Cardin. She showed no signs of regret, fear, or even anger. There seemed to be a lack of emotions in her body, and it clearly showed on her nonchalant face.

Cardin was less than pleased, to say the least, and his glare was immediately shot her way. "...so, was it you, little lady?"

_'Little lady? I'm a... what now?' _The boy's deep and intimidating tone wasn't even considered as Yang blinked back, humming to herself in thought.

"You're talking about the can, right...? Hm. So it was." she responded with a shrug. Needless to say, that kind of attitude - although it was regular for the amnesic - didn't sit well with the hot-headed student, currently storming his way closer to the girl. His growls grew louder and louder with each step he took.

"I don't appreciate that kind of _smart attitude." _he spat through clenched teeth. The girl gave a glance over her shoulder at every one else, unfazed by their intent eyes, as she took casual steps towards the male. Meeting halfway, they both stopped right in front of each other's faces, Cardin looming over the other. "What makes you think you can just waltz in, and do what you please to _me, _anyway?"

His intimidating attempts just bounced right off of Yang though, showing no signs of reaction as she blinked. "What makes _you _think you can just waltz in and do what you please to _her...?" _she retorted as she glanced over at Velvet, stepping on a few nerves of the other boy. She didn't seem to notice his shaking body, nor his fists tightening with every word that came from her mouth. She felt quite calm, now that she thought about it. Almost _too _calm.

"What _I _do is _none of your business, _got it?" he continued, patience dropping with the further the argument went on. By that point, the entire cafeteria had fallen silent, save for the two in the middle of the room.

"Yang, don't-!"

"Even if it isn't my business, it doesn't make it acceptable..." Velvet's interjection came too late, and the blonde had already started talking over the top of her, by the time she bothered to start her sentence. Luckily enough, her comment was forgotten in a matter of seconds, neither party or audience member seeming to take it in.

That was when Yang had stepped over the line. Cardin wasn't willing to put up with any kind of nonsense, especially not a lecture from some other girl. Stepping forward, he hastily grabbed onto the blonde's collar, pulling her up to nearly yank her toes from the ground. Biting her tongue, she held back a surprised wince. "Do you even know _who _you're talking to?"

Yang stopped. Those words, those simple words with no meaning seemed to hurt more than the grip she found herself in.

She never knew who she was talking to, really. Not after a long explanation, another awkward introduction, and days of warming up to their presence. She didn't even know who her friends were, when all of this began.

The answer to his question was 'no', but of course, there was no way those words were ever going to come from her mouth. She could only stare, in complete disbelief, hoping her weakness wasn't visible to the other.

And, luckily enough, he continued. "Because I don't tolerate people who think they're high and mighty, who think they're all this and that, but are really just trying to get _aaaall _this attention and praise from their friends."

But for some reason, all the lingering pain from before had ceased.

Instead, taking it's place was a burning passion in her chest, one that was too overwhelming to ignore. Slowly, her eyes peered open once more, and without another thought, words were coming straight from her mouth. Everyone except for her had the opportunity to realise that, during this time, her eyes were flaming a bright, bright, red.

_"...oh, yeah? Well, neither do I." _

Cardin's grip faltered as his eyes went wide in disbelief - and this was something Yang was quick to react to. Her hands immediately came flying towards his chest plate, pushing against it with all the force she could, to give one, hard, shove. Fortunately, it was enough for his grip to be violently torn away, and for the two to regain some distance between them. While he didn't fall to the ground, he was certainly knocked off balance, and stumbled back.

"...what do you think you're-"

"Keep this in mind, just in case you make the ridiculous decision to disrespect someone, okay...?" she interrupted, not allowing the other to speak. She hadn't finished talking yet. "You're lucky... that I can't do any more than that right now. You'll get more than a shove next time, I guarantee."

The boy paused for a moment, before his face turned into a deep scowl, all signs of frustration showing. "...you're _really _pissing me off, you know that?"

At first, Yang's mind drew a blank. Her words had suddenly been cut short, and they were no longer naturally flowing from her mouth. She stared for a moment, giving a signature blink or two, as her eyes faded back to a regular lilac. It made no difference to her, so she didn't notice at all. "I know." And that was all she said. It didn't really help that Cardin already looked like he was about to explode and cover the entire cafeteria in his flesh and bones.

Speaking of Cardin, only then did Yang notice that his buddies - the rest of his team, had fled off to one of the side tables, watching him from afar. They seemed like _such _a nice team, she noted to herself, voice full of sarcasm and nothing more.

_"...seriously." _he snapped, under his breath, grumbling a few words to himself. The blonde could only watch from a distance, curiosity wanting to know what he was saying, but her logic wasn't interested in the slightest. When he made eye contact with her though, his volume rose once again, almost as if he was shouting. "If you're so intent on playing the damn hero, then _fine." _With a roll of his eyes, he released his clenched fists, turning his back to the blonde. "Whatever." he added. "This isn't the end of things, blondie."

With those words, he called over his teammates, and the four of them quickly made their way out of the cafeteria.

The place was left in complete silence. Yang didn't need to turn around or look further than a few meters to know that everyone was probably staring her way. Addressing everyone else could come later, though. There was another matter she needed to attend to first.

Taking a few steps forward, she wore the softest expression she could, face tight in a concerned frown. "...are you... okay?" she muttered, barely audible. She didn't dare make eye-contact with the brunette faunas in front of her, instead letting all those past events do the talking for her.

There was a moment of prolonged silence between the two, that made the blonde feel uneasy. She was coming to doubt whether what she did was smart, or whether she should have stayed quiet, or if it was even necessary or not - and though it was in the past, she pondered on it all the more.

"...you don't have any memories, right?" Those were the first words to come from Velvet, and needless to say, the other was stunned. Eyes wide and body motionless, her mouth sat agape, not sure for what words to say in response. Instead, she settled for a mere nod of her head, eyes averted to the side. Nerves were controlling her body, no matter what she tried telling herself in her head.

The only thing that told Yang the other was smiling, was the small laugh that followed. "...huh?" Not noticing the word she had said herself, her eyes slowly made their way onto Velvet's figure. Though her eyes weren't the brightest, she still wore a smile nonetheless, and was looking her way.

"Blake... she told me about what happened. I couldn't believe it at first, but now that it's in front of me..." she continued, tone quiet and soft. She sighed. "So then, you don't know who I am... and yet, you still did something like that, for me...?" she questioned, though the other knew it was rhetorical, and stood by in silence. "Memories or not, you're still Yang, huh...? Memories or not, I'm still grateful..."

The amnesic was beyond shocked. It was as if Velvet knew what was running through her head, what things she was afraid of, what she had written down in her diary only moments earlier. Not only that, but she had spoken words she never thought she would hear, especially after pulling a risky move like that. She thought she'd screwed up, she thought she ruined everything, but...

Apparently, she was wrong.

"Really. You didn't have to do that, so... thank you, Yang." She hadn't noticed herself, but as she stared in disbelief, a pink blush covered her cheeks. Suddenly being a hero and being praised was not a position she expected herself to be in, at any point in time, let alone a week after she was deployed from hospital. Rubbing the back of her neck, she nodded.

"No problem... just... sticking up for a... friend." she spoke, unsure of what else to say. She felt her choice of words wasn't right, but she couldn't do anything about it, now that they were in the air.

"Velvet." she suddenly spoke, out of the blue. "I'm Velvet, so you know. If you ever need me for something... anything at all... just stop by, okay?"

"...sure." And, after exchanging waves, the brunette turned away.

"I'm afraid I might have to go. See you around." With those final words, she too, walked out of the cafeteria.

Leaving Yang in the spotlight.

But, before she could even turn around to return to her table, the rest of her friends were already rushing towards her, swarming around her.

"Yaaaaang!" Ruby called out, embracing her in a tight hug as soon as she reached her. She was quick to pull away though, wearing a proud smile - something that definitely contrasted with the terrified look from earlier on.

_"That _was a very bad move, you know." Weiss commented from behind her partner, arms folded across her chest. If it weren't for the smile on everyone else's faces, she might have believed her, and truly thought she had done something wrong.

"Hey, come on. You can't blame her. It might have been risky, but it was worth it." the red head filled in, silver eyes shining. She wasn't sure if it was all the attention or praise that she was getting, but Yang was sure that the blush from earlier remained on her face, showing all the nerves she felt.

"That was brave of you though, Yang. Considering you'd only just returned to Beacon a few days ago, as well..." Pyrrha pointed out, wearing a smile.

"C-Come on... it wasn't... _that _big a deal, was it...?" she muttered, avoiding everyone's gazes. She was sure she knew the answer to come, but still couldn't help asking such a question.

"Are you kidding? That was _Cardin Winchester. _Nobody likes to be around that guy. Which also means that no one likes to go up to him like that, either." Jaune explained, rubbing the back of his head.

"R-Right..."

"Hey, he could have done a lot worse than that. You got out of it pretty clean..." the leader added, with a shrug. Yang had no idea he was referring to past experiences though, nor did anyone point it out to her.

Seeing a break in the conversation, Yang immediately let the question on her mind slip. It had bugged her ever since she first spoke up to Velvet, and now that she had the chance, she needed to make sure she had a reassured answer. "Hey, um... one question, though..." she began. No one seemed to speak back, and so, she used that as her cue to continue. "This might be weird, but... was that _really _a... 'Yang' thing to do...?"

For a moment, no one spoke a word. The blonde found herself dreading the words to come, regretting having ever asked that question - but before the worries could root deep into her head, she received a light punch in the shoulder. She let out an 'ow', even though it didn't hurt, immediately looking to the culprit.

Ruby. "There's no need to put it like that." she began. "You're... always gonna be Yang. Always have been. So if you did it, then of course it's a 'Yang' thing."

Though it was a simple explanation, she was sure that her sister had no idea of the impact those words had on her.

"Now, come on. Let's leave this cafeteria before people's eyes start burning holes in the back of our heads." she added. Yang could only nod, falling behind everyone, before following them outside the twin doors. As each face passed by her, she took note of the majority of smiles that set ease to her heart.

Although one in particular did the opposite of put her to ease, she was sure she enjoyed the sight of it the most.

And because she saw Blake's smile - faint, but still there - she was able to walk out wearing a smile herself.

* * *

**A/N: Thank you all for the feedback and followers! Seriously. It makes my day a lot brighter than you think. ;v;**

**Keeping this short and sweet, don't forget to leave your thoughts, if you have any. I'll see you in the next one~! ^_^**


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